KAI Sotto produced six points, five rebounds, and one steal, but was frozen on the bench as the Adelaide 36ers blew a 10-point fourth quarter lead over the Brisbane Bullets, 77-73, on Friday in the 2021-22 NBL season at Nissan Arena.
The Filipino wunderkind played 15 minutes and seven seconds in a performance marred by four turnovers. He was also taken out of the game by Adelaide coach CJ Bruton with 6:45 left to play, never to return.
That was when Brisbane made its run, roaring back from a 67-57 deficit behind a 16-3 rally to take a 73-70 lead after a Lamar Patterson steal and dunk with 1:46 remaining.
Emmanuel Malou kept Adelaide in the game with a three to make it a 75-73 advantage with 13.2 seconds left, but Tanner Krebs put the game on ice for the Bullets with a pair of free throws in the last 9.8 ticks.
Red-hot Patterson
Patterson poured in eight of his 32 points in the payoff period, to go with six assists, five steals, and four rebounds to end Brisbane's [5-7] four-game skid.
Robert Franks added 15 points and five boards, while Chinese behemoth Liu Chanxing only got three points and two rebounds in seven minutes of action for the Bullets.
It was a tough defeat to take for the 36ers which remained at the bottom of the standings at 3-10 after this second straight loss.
Daniel Johnson carried Adelaide with a double-double of 15 points, 12 rebounds, and three assists as it sorely missed the presence of guard Dusty Hannahs, who missed the game after not meeting match-day fitness requirements.
The meltdown also wasted Emmanuel Malou's perfect 4-of-4 game, including three three-pointers, as he wound up with 11 points off the bench.
The 36ers will attempt to halt this losing streak when they host the Cairns Taipans on Feb. 20 at home at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre.
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