Stats, scores and results, last-second winners as Melbourne United def Adelaide 36ers, Tasmania JackJumpers def Sydney Kings, latest news

A Tyson Walker three-pointer at the death has seen Melbourne United preserve its unbeaten streak and improve to a franchise-equalling best 9-0 start to the season.

United trailed by as much as six points late in the fourth quarter but found a way in the game of the season so far to overcome a gallant Adelaide 36ers 81-80 in a thriller at John Cain Arena on Sunday.

36ers guard Dejan Vasiljevic hit a miracle three from the car park to give the visitors the ascendancy late.

Watch live coverage of NBL and WNBL 2025-26 seasons with ESPN on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.

Vasiljevic then got hit with a controversial over and back after some up-in-your-face defending from Goulding and it resulted in a scrappy United play with Milton Doyle putting up a missed three-point attempt and centre Jesse Edwards tapping the ball out to Walker, who drained a three wedged in the corner.

With 2.5 seconds left, Vasiljevic went for a straight line miracle three-point shot and it rimmed out to keep United’s undefeated streak alive.

The 36ers bus turned up to the stadium later than scheduled but the team did not seem overly bothered as they made a promising start.

36ers forward Zylan Cheatham was active at both ends, doing all the dirty work defensively and cutting in and out on offence to keep United guessing.

Cheatham produced a dominant 21 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists to arguably be the player on the court.

Isaac Humphries was 36ers a focal point at centre while Bryce Cotton, fresh off a 53-point game, struggled with his shot early, missing all of his five first period field goal attempts.

It was a subdued United crowd early as the team that has taken all before them this season began with a rare hesitancy with five first quarter turnovers.

United Jesse Edwards imposed himself on the contest, backing in to throw down a huge dunk on Humprhies in the first period, and a mouth watering big man duel was evolving.

Edwards had a game-high 25 points with seven rebounds, while Humphries was just as impressive with 18 points, though was hampered with foul trouble.

Cotton finally broke his field goal drought on a drive two minutes into the second period and followed up with a triple 30 seconds later to warning bells ringing in the United camp.

The 33-year-old had 15 points at half time but only finished with 22, which was a win for United, who had Walker and teenage Next Star Dash Daniels in his face all game, considering he was coming off a 53-point game.

Tension rise

Tensions rose when 36ers coach Mike Wells intimated that Goulding might have flopped on a play.

Goulding took exception and the two got up in each other’s faces to continue the spirited conversation that piqued the interest of the officials.

Wells might have poked the bear because Goulding produced a four-point play shortly after and glanced in his direction as United went on a 9-0 run to lead 40-37 at half time.

Maintaining the rage

Edwards came out breathing fire in the third, aggressively pursuing hoops in the paint and drawing a fourth foul on 36ers big Humphries, which was a concern as started the third with six quick points, but back up big Nick Rakocevic provided valuable minutes.

It was all to play for in the fourth with United leading by four.

Consecutive threes to Cotton and Cheatham had the 36ers up six with four minutes remaining.

A three-second violation on Edwards turned into a transition dunk for Humphries and the visitors could sense victory.

Both sides had their runs and moments where they felt like they would go on to win it, but United had their nose in front when it mattered.

JACKIES COMPLETE EPIC COMEBACK

Tasmania has produced one of the all-time great NBL comebacks, coming back from 16 points down in the fourth quarter to knock off Sydney.

A dominant third quarter from Jaylin Galloway saw him produce 11 points and open up a commanding 15-point lead heading into the fourth for the home side.

But the JackJumpers kept chipping away, firstly through a pair of big threes to Nick Marshall and Josh Bannan to cut it back to seven midway through the term.

Then it was three with less than a minute to play, with the Kings not scoring for the final three and a half minutes.

Ben Ayre cut it back to one, before Kouat Noi missed two three throws and Xavier Cooks turned the ball over with seven seconds left, as the JackJumpers ran the floor and Marshall finished off with a lay-up to seal a famous 90-89 win on the buzzer.

Defence goes missing

Bul Kuol earned his first start of the season as Sydney looked for a defensive edge to avoid a repeat of their recent trip to Hobart.

The JackJumpers quite literally got the jump on the Kings on that occasion, never letting the visitors lead at any stage.

It was more of the same this time around, as Tasmania hit its first four shots to open up a seven-point lead early on.

Sydney hung around to only trail by four after the first break, but their defence was non-existent as the visitors shot at an incredible 80 per cent through one, scoring 24 points in the paint in the process.

Hamilton hits right note

After a strong start to his NBL career, Bryce Hamilton cooled off in round five, going 9-29 from the field in their double header.

He was Tasmania’s main strike weapon in the first half, scoring a team high 13 points (6-8 FG) during that period.

However foul trouble saw him restricted to less than 12 minutes of court time, taking three fouls into the second half as the Kings dropped 30 in the second term to take a five-point advantage at the main change.

Bench impact

Sydney’s bench could muster just 14 points in their defeat to the Phoenix on Thursday night, all from Kouat Noi.

They responded in style, combining for 30 of the Kings’ 79 points through three quarters to help them open up a handy 15-point buffer.

They finished the game with 35 points as a collective.