The Adelaide 36ers defeated the Melbourne Tigers 92-83 in their NBL clash at the State Netball and Hockey Centre in Melbourne on Saturday night.

Import point guard Chris Warren was sublime for the 36ers with 26 points at 90 per cent shooting plus eight assists.

Daniel Johnson (18 points), Darren Ng (15 points), Diamon Simpson (13 points, 10 rebounds) and Everard Bartlett (11 points) all scored in double figures in a standout team performance.

Adelaide shot the ball at 53 per cent from the field, 58 per cent from the three-point line and made 24-of-28 free throws.

For Melbourne, league-leading scorer Cam Tragardh scored 19 points, while Ron Dorsey (16 points, five rebounds), Tommy Greer (14 points) and Daniel Dillon (10 points, five assists) all reached double figures.

The 36ers led by just one at halftime but turned the defensive screws in the third term, holding Melbourne to just 14 points to set up a match-winning lead.

Whenever the Tigers challenged in the final term, Warren had the answers to move his team one game clear of last place.