Saturday night's contest was in the balance at halftime, but the 36ers cut loose in the second half, blitzing the shellshocked Wildcats 59-30 after the main interval. This included a barnstorming 33-12 final term.

Josh Childress (22 points, nine rebounds) and Mitch Creek (20, 11) led an even Adelaide charge with six players notching double digits.

Conversely, only recently crowned league MVP Bryce Cotton (22 points) cracked double figures for the stuttering Wildcats. Their bid for a third-straight title are in jeopardy after a fourth defeat in five starts.

With Daniel Johnson (eight first-quarter points) on song early, the Sixers skipped ahead 14-6 before Perth called time out and whittled the margin back to 19-18 at quarter-time.

Ramone Moore's trey on the halftime siren gave the 36ers a 50-44 edge after a second-term arm wrestle but, from that point, it was all Adelaide.

Childress sparked a 13-0 Sixers run before tempers boiled over. Creek and Cotton tangled under the home side's basket as Adelaide streaked 18 points clear.

Perth rallied briefly with an 8-0 run before Childress converted in the dying seconds to give the 36ers a 76-62 three-quarter time buffer.

Any prospect of a Wildcats revival was flattened when Sobey kickstarted the fourth quarter with three-consecutive three-pointers.

The home crowd hit fever pitch and the Sixers kept their foot on Perth's throat throughout the last-quarter procession.

"The margin of victory was probably irrelevant because we just got on a roll in the fourth quarter," Adelaide coach Joey Wright said.

"It was great to see and to be part of. We did a good job of holding them, with only one of their players in double figures."

Perth coach Trevor Gleeson was at a loss to explain his side's inexplicable second-half meltdown.

"I really can't," he said.

"It's disappointing that we dished that up for the finals.

"In the first half we had good tempo and we just crumbled in the second half."

Australian Associated Press