Clinical South East Melbourne Phoenix loosened Adelaide 36ers’ grip on top spot on Saturday night with an impressive 97-77 win at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre.

Star skipper Nathan Sobey featured in the commanding performance with a team-high 19 points, with six South East Melbourne players finishing with double-digit scores.

Ladder-leaders Adelaide went into the clash two wins clear of the third-placed Phoenix, but Josh King’s men led by eight points at half-time and went on a 14-4 tear after the restart to quiet yet another sellout crowd.

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Phoenix led by as much as 20 points in the second half and held a 15-point break going into the final term.

With his team up by 17 points with three minutes remaining, Sobey sent a scare through the camp when he slipped and fell to the floor in pain. He went to the bench for assessment but was able to return as his side cruised to victory, with John Brown III and Jordan Hunter recording double-doubles in the emphatic display.

Zylan Cheatham also finished with a double-double, while Bryce Cotton had a game-high 26 points and Flynn Cameron also impressed, but there was little else to highlight in a disappointing display by Mike Wells’ side.

John Brown III of the Phoenix. Picture: Sarah Reed/Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images

The result dropped Adelaide to a 21-8 record, while South East Melbourne improved to 20-9.

Two of the best three-point shooting teams in the league were a combined 0-9 from outside the arc with just seconds remaining in an even first quarter.

Malique Lewis broke the drought as time ran out, his triple from the corner tying it up 18-18 at the first break.

Cameron drained his side’s first three early in the second quarter, but five minutes in the home side was 1-7 from three-point land and South East Melbourne was 1-15 at just seven per cent.

With Cotton quiet after a busy start, Cameron kept his side in it with a game-high 16 points in the first half, with his four triples Adelaide’s only three-pointers in the opening half.

Scores were level midway through the second term, but an unsportsmanlike foul by DJ Vasiljevic on Sobey sparked a 12-2 run.

With combative big Nick Rakocevic out suspended, Adelaide got owned on the offensive boards in the first half with the visitors pulling down a stunning 21 offensive rebounds to the home side’s five.

Nathan Sobey of the Phoenix dunks ahead of Bryce Cotton of the 36ers. Picture: Sarah Reed/Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images

Brown III led the charge with seven, with the Phoenix dominance on the offensive glass allowing them to throw up 50 shots from the floor in the first half.

“We know what the conversation is going to be from Mike Wells at halftime … if you can’t get hold of boxing people out and securing the ball and you give up 21 offensive boards it’s very hard to win,” NBL legend Andrew Gaze said.

Thankfully for Adelaide, the visitors only shot at 30 per cent, but still held an eight-point lead at the main break.

Sobey was emblematic of Phoenix’s wayward shooting with 1-from-11 shooting in the first half, although he did get to the free throw line often to lead his team with 11 points in the first half.

South East led the rebound count 37-20 in the first half, with Cheatham pulling down 10 of those to go with his eight first-half points.

— NCA NewsWire