South East Melbourne Phoenix have jumped back into second spot on the NBL ladder and moved within a game of Adelaide after trouncing the 36ers 97-77.
Nathan Sobey (19 points) appeared to overcome a late groin injury scare, when he came off momentarily after slipping on a wet spot on the floor, to lead an even charge at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre on Saturday.
With six Phoenix players scoring in double digits, SEM (20-9) inched past the Sydney Kings and now have the staggering Sixers (21-8) in their sights.
"Really proud of the guys' collective effort," Phoenix coach Josh King said.
"Everybody was locked in, focused and did their job.
"Our energy was really good on the defensive side of the ball."
Bryce Cotton top-scored for Adelaide with 26 points, albeit on a ragged 7-of-21 clip from the field, while Flynn Cameron added 21.
Isaac Humphries barely played after halftime because of knee soreness, leaving Adelaide severely undersized with fellow centre Nick Rakocevic out suspended.
The Phoenix duly smashed the Sixers on the boards 54-37, including 23-7 on the offensive glass.
After the scores were 18-18 at quarter-time, SEM took control in a second quarter that they won 30-22 to move ahead 48-40 at halftime.
The Phoenix shot just 15-of-50 in the first half, including 3-of-18 from three-point range - but their huge 35-20 advantage in rebounds was pivotal.
That figure included a whopping 21-5 edge in offensive boards, a completely unacceptable discrepancy as far as the 36ers were concerned.
John Brown and Jordan Hunter had 17 rebounds between them, including a combined 11 offensively.
Only Cameron, with 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting and 4-of-5 from deep, offered Adelaide anything in the first half.
Turnovers plagued the Sixers in the third term, with Sobey's steal and slam off a Cotton cough-up blowing the margin out to 18 points.
The 36ers closed the gap to 71-56 at three-quarter time, then to nine points when Cotton knocked down three free throws, but that was as close as they came.
Triples to Jordan Hunter, Sobey and Ian Clark warded off any prospect of a fightback, as SEM got rolling again in the closing stages.
"(Conceding) 21 offensive rebounds in a half is probably not going to be the greatest thing for your team," Adelaide coach Mike Wells lamented.
"That took its toll on us."
