Mitch Creek's career-best display in vain as South East Melbourne Phoenix lose NBL thriller.
Mitch Creek came oh so close to doing the impossible, nearly rescuing a result for his stuttering South East Melbourne Phoenix side.
The Phoenix trailed the Adelaide 36ers by 13 points heading into the final quarter of Tuesday night's NBL Cup clash, before the former Horsham Hornet stood up.
Creek drained three from outside the arc to start the quarter, on his way to a team-high 23 points.
The Phoenix's captain ultimately couldn't will his side over the line; the league's newest franchise falling to a five-point loss.
Creek finished with a career-high eight assists and a season-high 13 rebounds, coming just short of a maiden NBL triple-double.
Workhorse pic.twitter.com/eiJfrP3KYX
— South East Melbourne Phoenix (@SEMelbPhoenix) February 24, 2021
South East Melbourne Phoenix coach Simon Mitchell had plenty of praise for his star's improving three-point prowess.
"We had a pretty long off-season and plenty of gym time, and there wasn't much we could do during the off-season in Melbourne.
"We were restricted to just individual skills. We weren't allowed to scrimmage.
"So, we had a lot of shooting time and Creeky's put the work in."
The Phoenix own a 5-5 record so far this season and meet the NZ Breakers on Sunday afternoon.
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