'Stings': Where to now for Mike Wells' Adelaide 36ers

• ‍Andrew Bogut: Adelaide 36ers 'chat about firing head coach'‍
• 'Adelaide being Adelaide': Inside the 36ers slump‍
• Case Closed: McGee already the best player in the league

Take 1: Freshly-minted Australian Tyler Harvey and William "Davo" Hickey led the defending champions Illawarra Hawks to a stunning 16-point comeback 100-99 against the ladder-leading the Adelaide 36ers in NBL26 Round 20 in Wollongong on Thursday, February 5, 2026.

Take 2: Adelaide have lost five of its last seven and slipped to second after blowing a 16-point lead against the defending champions Illawarra Hawks 100-99 in NBL26 Round 20 in Wollongong on Thursday, February 5, 2026.

Hot take: Six weeks ago the 36ers were unbeatable but Adelaide's quest for its first championship in a quarter of century was been completely derailed by off-court distractions and now blowing a 16-point lead to a desperate defending champion Illawarra Hawks in NBL26 Round 20 in Wollongong on Thursday, February 5, 2026.

However it's sliced, the Adelaide 36ers have collapsed at the back end of the season.

"I don’t know if it's a psychological blow," 36ers head coach Mike Wells said.

"To be honest with you, this is our adversity. We’ve had a heck of a season where we’ve been fortunate to play well for long stretches and avoid injuries.

"Everybody has adversity in a hard-playing league like this. You’re going to have your ups and downs. It seems like ours is coming here at the end while some teams are trying to extend their season. We’re all jockeying for playoff positioning and home court.

"I’m super proud of my group. They’ve been a hell of a group to coach. We stayed in the fight. We were communicating the right way and were organised.

"We knew we needed to find Bryce (Cotton) and let him quarterback some things."

The past 10 days has been season-defining for the 36ers for all the wrong reasons:

• Involved in a wild melee against the Brisbane Bullets that led to a Nick Rakocevic suspension and disputable claims by Wells that Bullets import was punching Rakocevic.
• Lost by 20 to the chasing South East Melbourne Phoenix at home a few days later.
• Sydney Kings assistant coach Andrew Bogut claimed Adelaide's front office met to "chat about firing your Head Coach, whilst you sit in 1st place on the NBL Ladder." basketball.com.au sources confirmed there was meetings.
• Blew a 16-point lead to the Illawarra Hawks and are now 2-5 in their last seven games.
• Have gone from first to second (21-9) and a real danger of slipping to third given the Kings (20-9) with a game in hand and a far superior for / against.

"It will probably get louder," Wells admitted of the criticism the 36ers have endured.

"That’s part of it. As the head coach, you have to shoulder that. That’s leadership. You try to get the guys focused on what’s next. That one stings.

"There’s no other way to put it. We led for a long time and just wanted to get it over the line. You have to make one more play. We had two really good looks right there, and the ball didn’t bounce our way.

"We have to move on, and we have to move on quickly. We have to crunch this up and use it as fuel. As Coach (Gregg) Popovich used to say in San Antonio, we have to use the sting of this as fuel to drive us into Saturday night, which will be a very difficult game at United."

For the Hawks, it was a must win and they delivered. They need the JackJumpers to slip but are still in the hunt for sixth-placed.

"This week was just about getting back to enjoying the game, enjoying trusting each other, and finding ways to get the guys competing for 40 minutes and doing what it takes to win," head coach Justin Tatum said.

"We had two really good practices again, putting ourselves in situations like this, being down and being up, and I guess it paid off because the guys never gave up. The fans stayed with us the whole time. It is a really good feeling to see your team improve from practicing and believing in what they feel they can do.

"Being down 16 to a really good Adelaide team, at the end of the day we could have folded like we have in previous games or not finished well, but the guys kept believing."

NBL25 All-NBL First Team guard Tyler Harvey, 32, delivered one of his best shooting performances of NBL26, scoring 22 points on 6-from-11 from deep a day after it was revealed he would become and Australian citizen.

"I don’t really focus my attention on whether they go in or not," Harvey said.

"We’re more focused on whether it’s a good shot. If it’s a good shot, take it. JT, we’ve been working all week on trying to get great shots.

"We have a lot of shooters on our team, and whoever’s open, shoot it. Obviously it’s better when they go in, sometimes they don’t, but I got a few good looks early and that helped our momentum to get going. They made a run, but our ability to start the game well today propelled us throughout the game.

"We’ve been starting slow a lot this year and digging holes early, and it’s hard to get out of that. Today was a different story."

How the 4th Quarter Unfolded

Adelaide entered the final quarter up 78–69, with momentum, control of tempo, and Bryce Cotton operating comfortably in semi-transition and pull-up situations. Illawarra had struggled to convert second-chance looks earlier but were beginning to tilt the rebounding battle late in the third.

The question at the break: could Illawarra turn pressure into pace without losing composure?

1. Early Q4 – Illawarra Turn Defence into Rhythm

From 10:00 to ~7:30, the Hawks didn’t immediately close the gap on the scoreboard, but they changed the texture of the game.

Key themes:

• William Hickey became the tempo driver: pushing after makes and misses, cutting decisively, and attacking early gaps.
• Illawarra’s guards began jumping passing lanes, forcing Adelaide into slightly later actions.
• Adelaide still scored (Humphries inside, Cotton pull-ups), but possessions stretched longer and became more contested.

This wasn’t about points yet — it was about making Adelaide work.

2. The First Run – Hawks Apply Pressure (7:44–5:07)

The turning point began around 7:44, when Hickey scored at the rim, then immediately forced turnovers on consecutive possessions.

Sequence impact:

• Hickey scores → Hickey steals → Hickey assists
• Illawarra scores 11 points in roughly 2:40
• Margin tightens from 84–75 to 92–84

What mattered here:

• Hawks scored before Adelaide could set its defence
• Quentin Peterson and Tyler Harvey both punished soft closeouts
• Adelaide’s help defence started to collapse earlier, opening kick-outs

This was Illawarra’s best stretch of flow offence all night.

3. Bryce Cotton’s Shot-Making Keeps Adelaide Alive

Between 5:21 and 4:34, Bryce Cotton hit back-to-back deep pull-up threes, pushing the margin back to 95–87.

Important context:

• These were self-created shots late in the clock
• They came after broken sets, not designed actions
• They stopped momentum, but did not reset control

Adelaide survived the run — but they didn’t reassert command.

4. Mid-Q4 Grind – Illawarra Win the Margins

From 4:18 to 2:01, the game slowed, and this is where Illawarra quietly won the quarter.

Key details:

• Multiple offensive rebounds (McGee, Wani Swaka Lo Buluk)
• Adelaide forced into one-and-done possessions
• Hawks consistently got two shots per trip

Even when Illawarra missed, they stayed alive. Adelaide didn’t.

5. The Second Run – Hawks Take the Lead (3:15–0:37)

This stretch defined the quarter.

Key sequence:

• Hickey scores twice at the rim
• Hawks force a Cotton turnover
• Peterson hits a go-ahead three at 0:37 (98–97)

Why this worked:

• Illawarra attacked the paint first, not the arc
• Adelaide’s help was late, and rotations were split
• Hawks guards trusted the pass instead of forcing shots

For the first time in the quarter, Adelaide were reacting, not initiating.

6. Final 30 Seconds – Chaos, Composure, and the Deciding Play

With 22 seconds left, Bryce Cotton hit a tough pull-up to put Adelaide up 99–98.

Illawarra’s response:

• Missed initial layup
• Offensive rebound
• Second offensive rebound
• Wani Swaka Lo Buluk tip-in with 3 seconds left

That possession summed up the quarter:

• Persistence over polish
• Physicality over spacing
• Process over play-calling

Adelaide got a final look. Cotton missed. Illawarra secured the rebound.

7. Quarter Numbers That Tell the Story

• Illawarra: 31 points
• Adelaide: 21 points
• Hawks scored 12 points off second chances
• Hawks forced key turnovers without fouling
• Adelaide relied heavily on Cotton isolation late

This wasn’t a collapse — it was a slow erosion.

8. What happened

Illawarra won the fourth quarter by:

• Increasing defensive pressure without gambling
• Winning the offensive glass late
• Letting Hickey dictate tempo
• Trusting the next pass in crunch time

Adelaide lost it by:

• Failing to secure defensive rebounds
• Allowing early offence after makes
• Becoming increasingly dependent on tough shot-making

Bottom Line

The Hawks didn’t steal the game — they earned it possession by possession. The final score will be remembered, but the fourth quarter was decided by effort margins, pace control, and trust under pressure.