The American shooting guard delivered a reminder of his class with 18 points in the 36ers' 114-107 win over the New Zealand Breakers in Auckland on Thursday.

The 29-year-old had been sidelined for three weeks with a calf complaint but it didn't stop him landing seven-of-10 from the field, including two of three from long range.

It provided a perfect foil for red-hot guard partner Nathan Sobey (27 points, nine assists) and sounded a warning to play-off rivals that Adelaide's back court is firing in the manner that took them to last year's grand final series.

Coach Joey Wright was impressed his team won three of five games without Moore to hold fourth.

With Moore back, Wright believes they can challenge any one of Melbourne, Perth and Sydney, who have all clinched post-season slots.

"It's a credit to the guys, winning ball games while we had such a great player out, but we need him," Wright said of Moore, who was crowned the NBL's best sixth man last season.

"Ramone didn't do badly at all. He might have hit the wall a little bit as the game went on."

Adelaide (14-12) and Brisbane (13-13) are battling to cement fourth place with two games each remaining.

The Bullets face last-placed Taipans in Cairns on Saturday followed by the struggling Breakers in Brisbane.

The 36ers face a stiffer finish, firstly at home to Moore's old team Melbourne on Sunday and determined there be no repeat of last week's 114-91 thrashing by the defending champions. They then travel to Perth.

There is little between Adelaide and Brisbane in terms of points percentage, which may yet determine their fate.

It created the unusual sight of Wright calling a time-out with seconds remaining in Auckland, even though the result was in the bag.

"It wasn't to try to embarrass the Breakers or anything. We've got to win by as many points as we can," Wright said.

Australian Associated Press