Jo Lual-Acuil and Tohi Smith-Milner showcase Melbourne United’s depth in NBA victory over Brisbane Bullets

A team of champions or a champion team? Melbourne United played like the latter in its victory over Brisbane Bullets as two lesser lights plugged a major hole for the NBL title contender.

Melo Trimble puts some body on Brisbane’s Nathan Sobey. Picture: Michael Klein

Unsung heroes.

Every championship calibre team needs them — especially when the big guns are misfiring.

With towering Kiwi Alex Pledger out for up to eight weeks after surgery on his ankle, Melbourne United was forced to lean on Jo Lual-Acuil and Tohi Smith-Milner to do the heavy lifting.

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And lean hard against Brisbane they would, especially with interior stud Shawn Long struggling with his shot against Bullets giants Matt Hodgson and Will Magnay.

Smith-Milner caught fire at the offensive end with a career-high 19 points, at one point rocking Melbourne Arena with a deep three that beat the three quarter time buzzer.

Perhaps the only cheer as loud was when the big Kiwi checked out of the game in the last quarter.

Tohi Smith-Milner scored a career-high 19 points. Picture: Michael Klein.

Shawn Long drives to the hoop under intense pressure. Picture: Michael Klein.

“The boys found me in good spots and I was lucky to finish, but I think it was a team effort,” Smith-Milner told the crowd from the court after the game.

At the other end, Lual-Acuil was like a 213cm energiser bunny, blocking shots and eating glass like it was Sunday dinner.

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Sure, he made some mistakes, notably a pair of turnovers on travel calls, but the positives far outweighed the negatives as he compiled an 11-point, 13-rebound double double.

So confident in the pair was coach Dean Vickerman that Long would play just two minutes in the last quarter as United got the job done, 108-94.

To the bench, too, they would look to cover injured import Casey Prather.

Melo Trimble puts some body on Brisbane’s Nathan Sobey. Picture: Michael Klein

Injury replacement Dillon Stith would do his best Prather impersonation during a two-minute stretch in the second quarter, scoring 5 quick points and then Sam McDaniel drained a three late in the third term.

Not quite an unsung hero, but a man who has certainly sacrificed his game for the common good is Mitch McCarron. The ferocious do-it-all guard scored eight of United’s first 13 points, before impacting the game in other ways, his highlight reel behind the back pass to Chris Goulding putting the game to bed, his 12-point, 12-rebound double-double laced with 7 assists.

This was a different sort of win for United.

And yet the one constant was point guard Melo Trimble.

Well, not quite constant — he didn’t score in the first quarter, but lit it up from there with a scorching 25 points. He is fast becoming United’s conductor after struggling early in the season.

The win snapped a three-game losing streak against the Bullets and was United’s sixth on the bounce, helped by disastrous performances from key men Lamar Patterson and Nate Sobey, the pair shooting a combined 9-36 from the field.

A revenge-game trip to Cairns is up next, before a Sunday trip grudge match against Sydney in Sydney.

Win those two and they might just wrest the NBL title favouritism back from the Kings.

FINAL

Melbourne United 108

Trimble 25 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists

Smith-Milner 19 points

Goulding 14 points

McCarron 12 points, 12 rebounds, 7 assists

Lual-Acuil 11 points, 13 rebounds

Brisbane 94

Cadee 18 points, 5 3-pointers

Sobey 17 points

Patterson 14 points, 8 assists, 7 rebounds.