NBL25 Round 3: Former MVP, rookie, lead Kings romp to spoil Bullets’ homecoming
The JackJumpers recorded one of their most memorable wins in franchise history on Sunday night, coming from miles back to shock the Perth Wildcats.
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They may already be NBL champions but a stunning overtime fightback win by Tasmania on Sunday against Perth is set to go down in the JackJumpers history books as one of the franchise’s most memorable wins.
In a game that was largely dominated by the Wildcats, a clutch three from import Milton Doyle with 4.4 seconds on the clock saw the round 3 clash sent to overtime before another from Majok Deng with scores tied and 25 seconds remaining in overtime play put a dagger in the hearts of the visitors.
After withstanding a Tasmania fightback throughout the final term, it appeared a late three from Elijah Pepper would be enough for Perth to pull off the greatest of escapes.
A turnover on an inbound pass from captain Clint Steindl that went out of bounds off the leg of Doyle, followed by two made free throws from Ben Hensall, looked to kill any chance the home side had at sending the game to overtime before Doyle pulled off some late heroics.
The JackJumpers eventually claimed victory by five points.
Doyle led the way for Tasmania with 20 points, five rebounds and four assists while Jordan Crawford (16 points, three rebounds and three assists) and Deng (16 points, six rebounds and two assists) were also strong in the victory.
For the Wildcats, it was captain Bryce Cotton (24 points, four assists and three rebounds) who responded from a quiet five-point showing against Melbourne United on Friday night – his lowest scoring game since December 2023.
Kristian Doolittle (14 points, 12 rebounds and one assist) finished with a double-double while big man Keanu Pinder finished the game with what appeared to be a head injury following a clash with Deng.
The Wildcats came out with clear intent from the tip-off, dominating play in the opening quarter with their work on transition defense, killing the home side early and limiting Tasmania to just nine first-quarter points.
Cotton also looked like a man possessed, dropping nine points of his own in the first term.
The opening stages of the second also belonged to the visiting side and after going 0/10 at three point line to start the game, a string of three straight from deep swung momentum back in Tasmania’s favor.
Crawford and Doyle got the ball rolling, before Steindl joined the party, with Perth’s half-time lead cut to just six points thanks to an 11-7 run in the term’s final three minutes.
A see-sawing third term saw the Wildcats lead creep back out to 12 but after two missed threes from Cotton late in the term, it again stood at six at the final break before the thrilling final term.
Perth will now look towards its round four clash on the road against an in-form Cairns Taipans outfit on Thursday night while the JackJumpers will also hit the road to face Illawarra on Saturday.
TAIPANS CONTINUE RUN AS KING-KILLERS
Cairns Taipans’ successful run against Melbourne United continued as they made it six wins from the last seven encounters with a dominant performance at John Cain Arena on Sunday.
The visitors quietened the home crowd with a 101-88 victory as a 35-point second quarter set them up for a third victory of the season.
The Taipans are the only team in the league to be undefeated against United since the beginning of last season with four consecutive victories.
Rob Edwards is one of the most lethal three-point shooters in the game and found range from the perimeter as he nailed four threes leading his side to a 13-point win.
But it was a team performance from the Taipans who stretched the floor with five players impacting the scoreboard with more than 14 points.
Everything that Kyrin Galloway touched turned to gold as the 25-year-old finished with 16 points, including an impressive 4/6 from beyond the arc.
The first quarter belonged to United as they controlled the game and seemed to have ascendancy over their rivals, but Taipans fired up to produce a special second term.
Coming into the game, Melbourne United had the best defensive rating in the league but Cairns paid no attention to that as they scored 35 points in the second quarter.
It was raining threes at both ends of the court in the first half as United (9/19) and Taipans (11/19) both shot the deep ball with great efficiency.
But Cairns got on top in the second half and held on for what was a comfortable victory at the final buzzer.
ENTERTAINING EDWARDS
Whether it is staring down the crowd or flexing his muscles after making a tough bucket, Rob Edwards has an entertaining presence about him.
He finished with 23 points, five rebounds and shot the ball well from outside making 4/6 threes.
The 27-year-old has announced himself as one of the most prolific scorers in the league across the first four games with an average of more than 21 points per game.
The Taipans’ offence operates around Edwards who made some tough buckets to lead his side to an important win over United.
Edwards also recently put up 31 points against the Adelaide 36ers which included an impressive 6/8 from three.
GOULD-CLASS VIEWING EARLY
United veteran Chris Goulding had every Cairns player trembling in defence early as he lit up JCA and produced 11 points in the first term, but he faded out, as did his team.
CG43 put the ball on the floor more than we’ve seen in recent outings and contributed well for his minutes.
The 35-year-old finished the game with 22 points as he knocked down five threes in just over 27 minutes of game time.
KINGS MAKE BUMPER RETURN TO SPIRITUAL HOME
The sizzling Sydney Kings spoiled the Bullets’ return to their spiritual home on Saturday night, strolling to a 91-82 win over an ordinary Brisbane.
Much has been made of the Bullets returning to the Brisbane Entertainment Centre this season after a long absence.
However, someone forgot to tell the Kings - who were intent on bouncing back from last Sunday’s 96-89 loss to Illawarra Hawks - that it was supposed to be a night of celebration for the hosts in their first home game of their 2024-25 NBL campaign.
The game was as good as over by half-time, with the Xavier Cooks-inspired Kings leading 47-27 on their way to ensuring the Bullets’ poor start to the season continued with a third successive defeat.
The final margin flattered the Bullets, who scored the final 16 points of the contest, with the Kings having taken their foot off the pedal.
Cooks finished the game with 23 points and seven rebounds, and was well supported by a host of teammates, including emerging talent Keli Leaupepe, who contributed 22 points in Sydney’s third win of the season.
“It was good. The guys were finding me and the shots were dropping,” Leaupepe said.
“It was a good overall performance by the team.”
Casey Prather, who hit 17 points and played virtually a lone hand for the Bullets when the game was on the line, was left to lament his side’s poor display.
“When our shots weren’t falling we did a poor job of getting back and getting the stop,” said Prather, a three-time NBL champion.
Both sides had periods of dominance in the opening quarter.
The Kings went on an 11-point run before the Bullets responded with 13 points of their own to grab the lead.
However, Sydney then went on an 18-point run either side of quarter-time to ensure it was going to be a night to forget for Brisbane, who paid the price for turning over the ball 10 times in the first half.
X-FACTOR
Sydney star Xavier Cooks took control from the outset in a commanding performance.
The 29-year-old forward had 12 points by quarter-time, hitting five out of five from the field.
He continued to torment the Bullets and had 21 points and six rebounds by three-quarter time.
“It’s a game of runs (early),” Cooks said.
“We came out and threw the first punch, then made some subs and our intensity level dropped off a little bit, and they went on a run, but we’ve got the players to do it.”
BATTLING BATEMON
It was another disappointing night for Brisbane’s American point guard James Batemon.
Having struggled in the Bullets’ opening two games of the season, Batemon was under pressure to lift.
However he couldn’t do so. He failed to register a point or an assist in the opening two quarters.
He lifted slightly after half-time, and by three-quarter time had six points and half-a-dozen rebounds.
Batemon finished the match with nine points and nine rebounds, but much more is expected of him.
Davis answers critics in big 36ers fightback
by Robert Dillon
The Adelaide 36ers have reaffirmed their reputation as Illawarra’s hoodoo team by becoming the first NBL side this season to beat the Hawks in a 102-100 boilover at the Snakepit on Saturday.
Adelaide came from seven points down in the final quarter to post their second win in as many games, after opening the season with back-to-back defeats.
Adelaide have now won six of their past seven games against the Hawks, who crashed back to earth with a thud after previous successes against Cairns Taipans (102-75), Brisbane Bullets (113-101) and Sydney Kings (96-89).
American imports Kendric Davis (32 points) and Montrezl Harrel (17 points, 10 rebound) led the way for Adelaide.
HAWKS WEATHER EARLY STORM
Adelaide, coming off a 93-83 win against South East Melbourne midweek, burst out of the blocks when Kendric Davis produced a steal in the opening seconds to open the scoring.
It was soon 7-0 to the visitors as Davis stamped his class on proceedings. The sharpshooting point guard raced to double figures inside the first four minutes, including a couple of dazzling three-pointers.
But the Hawks are the best first-quarter attacking team in the NBL, and they soon found their groove, rapidly hauling in the 36ers to grab a 32-27 lead by the end of the first stanza.
ADELAIDE STICK TO THEIR GUNS
The visitors wouldn’t go away, and hit back in a fiercely contested second quarter, reducing the deficit to 54-52 at the half-time break.
Davis, by this point, had increased his personal tally to 19 points and received admirable support from former NBA veteran Harrel, who contributed 10 points and three rebounds in the first two quarters.
The 36ers upped the ante in the third quarter, drawing level with the home side at 81-all by the end of that period.
Illawarra surged ahead in the final quarter, but Adelaide pegged them back and sealed victory at the death in a thrilling climax.
KELL III PROVES A POINT
Illawarra import Trey Kell III could at least hold his head high against his former club.
Kell played 25 games for the 36ers last season before linking with the Hawks.
He had a job to do against his ex-teammates and led the scoring for Illawarra with 29 points.
Fellow American Tyler Harvey also starred with 22 points, including five three-pointers.
HAWKS A HOT TICKET
It’s been many, many since the good folk of Wollongong had a sporting team in contention for a title.
Can the Hawks provide something to celebrate this season?
There’s a long way to go, but there is certainly a feelgood vibe in the ‘Gong at the moment, as evidenced by a sell-out crowd, which included NBL legend Cal Bruton, sitting courtside in sunglasses and a beret.
36ERS SHOW THEIR STAYING POWER
Adelaide’s victory put paid to a worrying hoodoo. The 36ers had lost the final quarter of their previous six games, but held their nerve when it got down the crunch against Illawarra
Armstrong dominant in triumph
by Jake Garland
The Cairns Taipans have blown away the reigning champions to break a five -game losing streak to the Tasmanian JackJumpers, and sent a warning to the rest of the NBL that they cannot be overlooked as a genuine threat this season..
In Friday night’s blockbuster at the Cairns Convention Centre, the Taipans showed why they are a serious threat in the 2024/25 season with a 90-78 win over the JackJumpers.
Taran Armstong made a successful return from injury, putting up a career-best 20 points in the 90-78 win against the JackJumpers, with five assists and four rebounds making for a big night in the tropics.
Import guard Rob Edwards also starred, finishing with 16 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, a steal and a block in an impressive all-round performance. Giving plenty for the home crowd to cheer about was the Taipans skipper Taran Armstrong (20 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds) and Rob Edwards (16 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists).
Taipans coach Adam Forde said he found it hard to take Armstrong out of the game. hard to pull Armstrong off.
“I am not the medical’s favourite person at the moment because we were supposed to cap him (Armstrong) at 20 (minutes),” Forde said.
“But it is kind of hard not to leave him out there when he is plus- 22.
“There is a level of stability and even at the end where it started to get a little bit away from us, you chuck Kyle in there and it was just these two level heads that just had this real calming influence to finish out the game.
“This is what we wanted early on, it’s good to see.
“We are three games in, no one is winning anything in October but we can see infancy stage to where we are at and the direction we are going in.”
The Taipans ledwere up by as much as 24 points midway through the third quarter, but the defending champion JackJumpers found themselves and lifted in the back end of the second half to close the score to within two buckets.
While they ultimately fell short, JackJumpers coach Scott Roth said it was pleasing to know his side can chase down any lead.
“Congratulations to them, they just played harder for longer than we did,” Roth said.
“(They) put us on the back foot and credit to them and the aggression to go play and I love the fight of our guys to get back to within four with a few minutes to go.
“And we’ll just build off of that, it is quite difficult to win on the road in the NBL and in general.
“So we just have to do better in some areas, we probably shot too many threes.”
It was an ideal start to round 3 for the Taipans, who finished strongly to claim a 12-point victory, and will face the red hot Melbourne United in Melbourne on Sunday. But it was the Taipans, with the crowd lifting them to hold on and fight back late in the fourth quarter to claim the 12 point victory.
The win starts off the Taipans weekend perfectly as they now travel to Melbourne to take on the South East Melbourne Phoenix on Sunday.
ARMSTRONG, TOO STRONG
Cairns point guard Taran Armstrong showed no signs of the calf strain which kept him out of the opening two matches.
Armstrong started his first game of the season and played a total of 14 minutes of the first half.
His 14 first-half minutes proved the calf was right, but it was a second-quarter dunk which almost burst a hole in the roof of the Cairns Convention Centre.
Armstrong made the most of his minutes in the second half, finishing with 20 points, 5 assists and 4 rebounds in 29 minutes.
It is the Tasmanian product’s best return in an NBL game, beating his previous best of 18 points - which also came against the JackJumpers - last season.
PUSH AND SHOVE
JackJumpers star Jordon Crawford let his frustration out late in the fourth quarter when putting on a block against Taipans guard Rob Edwards.
Edwards pushed through, which didn’t sit well with Crawford and led to a bit of push and shove as players came in to break it up.
It didn’t end there, with Edwards making sure he got the crowd involved, who gave plenty to the Tasmanian bench as he went to the foul line minutes later.
SHARING THE LOVE
Rob Edwards was already a well-received by the Orange Army, but he proved he’s a crowd favourite after he dominated with 31 points in his first game in Cairns.
Cairns had eight different scorers in their first game at the Snakepit in NBL25, with five players scoring double figures.
Taran Armstrong led the way with 20 points, Edwards had 16 points, while Kyrin Galloway (14 points), Sam Waardenburg (12 points) and Pedro Bradshaw also hit double digits.
BROTHERLY LOVE IN FNQ
It’s been a long time coming, but the Gak brothers have faced off for the first time in the Tropical city.
Younger brother Akoldah Gak joined the Taipans and grew into a key member of the rotation, but they didn’t cross paths in NBL24 despite Gorjok Gak playing 17 games himself.
Gorjok Gak made his first appearance for the JackJumpers against the Taipans, and featured in several plays against each other despite being limited to just over four minutes (AK Gak played over eight).
HOT AND COLD DOYLE
JackJumpers guard Milton Doyle had an explosive first half and was the shining light in an otherwise dismal half for the reigning premiers.
But it was the complete opposite in the second half as he struggled from any type of range.
Doyle had 15 at the main break but managed just four points in the second half to go along with his 2 assists and 3 rebounds.
Ice, DJ, lead 36ers in breakthrough
by Jason Phelan
That’s more like it, Adelaide!
The fired-up 36ers bounced back from an 0-2 start to storm to their first win under new coach Mike Wells, Isaac Humphries and DJ Vasiljevic starring in a commanding win that consigned South East Melbourne to an 0-4 record.
Playing in front of their adoring fans at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre for the first time in NBL25, the Sixers led from start to finish on Thursday night, riding a much-improved defensive performance to a 10-point result to make it six wins in a row at home.
Vasiljevic had scored 20 or more points in his past seven games, the longest such streak in the NBL, and the skipper made it eight in a row with his 22 points, while Humphries snapped out of an indifferent start to the season to finish with 22 as well.
The Phoenix trailed by as much as 20 points and was 13 down heading into the final term, import Matt Hurt playing a lone hand on offence with a game-high 32 points.
The visitors rallied to make it a nine-point game with five minutes remaining, but the steely Sixers held their nerve.
ICE HEATS UP
Humphries managed just five points from 10 attempts from the floor across his first two games, but the star centre shook off his early-season lethargy in a stirring opening blitz by the home side.
Vasiljevic made sure to find his teammate early and Ice responded with six points in the first five minutes of the game.
Adelaide led by nine points at the first break, with the ice-cold visitors shooting at just 6-from-20 from the floor and 1-from-9 from three-point land in the first term.
Humphries had a game-high 12 points on 5-from-6 shooting four minutes into the second term as the red-hot Sixers stormed to a 45-25 lead.
“We’ve had a weird start (to the season) and I’ve had a very weird start,” Humphries told ESPN at half-time.
“There’s been a few moving pieces within the team with personnel and stuff like that we’ve had to figure out … every day we’re getting better at it.”
THE MONTREZL EFFECT
Wells saw enough from Montrezl Harrell in the first two games to put the energetic American into the starting line-up and he didn’t disappoint.
With his side’s defensive efforts under the microscope, Harrell set the tone with a game-high seven rebounds in the first half, six of those on the defensive end, with one monster block and he was unlucky to be whistled on another shot he sent packing.
Harrell’s first points came as time ran out in the first quarter, the imposing big man gathering a missed shot and elevating high above the rim to throw down a commanding dunk that had the home fans in full voice.
Such was the energy he put into the jam, Harrell fell almost flat on his back but was still pumping up the crowd as he lay on the floor.
Harell was fired up after his second block in the third quarter, but earned himself a tech foul for his shove on Tom Vodanovich after the Phoenix big man fouled Kendric Davis.
CONDUCIVE?
Import Kendric Davis was in the news during the week after he took umbrage to a journalist opining on social media as to whether his play was conducive to winning in the NBL.
“I’m (going to) make sure we revisit this tweet in a few months,” Davis fired back.
The American didn’t need to wait that long, pouring in 21 points, with four steals and handing off seven assists in an impressive display.
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