NBL Week 5 news: Brisbane Bullets win 90-87 over Tasmania JackJumpers, Melbourne United win 96-84 over Illawarra Hawks
The Brisbane Bullets finished their five-game-stretch without centre Aron Baynes in style with an exhilarating 90-87 victory over the Tasmania JackJumpers.
Basketball
Don't miss out on the headlines from Basketball. Followed categories will be added to My News.
The Brisbane Bullets finished their five-game-stretch without centre Aron Baynes in style with an exhilarating 90-87 victory over the Tasmania JackJumpers improving their record to 4-4 on the season, and 2-3 in Baynes’ absence.
In the tight Sunday afternoon skirmish at Nissan arena, the home side Brisbane claimed back-to-back victories following a clutch second half showcase from Boomer Nathan Sobey, who finished with a game-high 28 after having just six at the half.
Sobey (20.9ppg) won the scoring battle against JackJumpers guard Jordon Crawford (19.7ppg), besting the shifty Crawford who was kept reasonably quiet with 16.
Crawford was, however, an elite passer who threaded the needle on multiple occasions to set up an open shot.
They weren’t falling in the beginning for the visitors, with Brisbane leading for 22:49 minutes in the first three periods, compared to Tasmania who led for just 2:38.
The Bullets led 24-21 after the first, 45-39 at the half, and 69-62 at three-quarter-time with Tyrell Harrison (10 points, six rebounds), Isaac White (10 points) and Josh Bannan (10 points and 10 rebounds) strong contributors.
Indeed Bannan scored a crucial bucket in the final moments to stretch the Bullets lead to three, which turned to five after an essential stop and subsequent foul by Tasmania led to Chris Smith sinking two free-throws.
Crawford then evaded his defender and made a lay-up to bring it within three but would go onto miss a game-tying three-point-attempt.
For Tasmania, Jack McVeigh (18 points), athletic big Majok Deng (17 points), three-point sniper Sean Macdonald (12 points) led the way, however Sobey was electric again in spearheading the Bullets.
WHITE THE WALKING BUCKET
Bullets guard Isaac White showed his craftiness in the first quarter, which the Bullets won 24-21, when he was called upon quickly after Nathan Sobey found himself in early foul trouble.
Mullet-wearing White hit a crisp pull-up jumper followed by a three-pointer when he peeled off a screen, providing Brisbane with some buckets, as well as an assist when their primary scorer Sobey sat with two fouls.
DENG ON DUNK DUTY
JackJumpers forward Majok Deng was a highlight-a-minute performer for the visitors, slamming home four vicious dunks in the first half of action.
Standing 205cm tall and the most athletic player on the floor, Deng did his thing with authority, using both hands to flush it home.
But he also showed his range from behind the arc when he sunk a three deep in the second quarter to thwart a Bullets run.
He was entertainment-plus, scoring 13 in an efficient 5-8 shooting in the first half.
He finished with 17 points.
HARRION HUGE IN PAINT
Overwhelming Bullets centre Tyrell Harrison closed out Brisbane’s five games without Aron Baynes with a dominant showing, especially in the first half.
Harrison looked at the peak of his powers, accruing five rebounds, eight points and blocking a shot in a productive 14-minute first half where he had the ball in his hands as much as White and Sobey.
His physicality was everything for the home side, seeing them to a 45-39 first half advantage.
CRAFTY CRAWFORD
JackJumpers point guard Jordon Crawford was third in the league in scoring (19.7ppg) prior to the game but the early MVP candidate influenced the contest with his passing not his scoring in Sunday’s afternoon showdown.
Standing at 170cm, Crawford was the shortest on the floor, but he took the crown for the shiftiest despite strong competition from the competition’s second leading scorer Sobey.
Crawford, who like Sobey had his momentum killed by picking up fouls in quick succession, was a pass first guy for Tasmania who got his teammates open looks with a handful of flashy dimes.
He finished with 16 points, three assists and three rebounds.
UNDERMANNED UNITED SHAKE OFF HAWKS TO TIGHTEN GRIP ON LADDER
—Lance Jenkinson
High flying Melbourne United called on a vintage Chris Goulding performance to shake off a persistent Illawarra Hawks and win 96-84 at John Cain Arena on Sunday.
An undermanned United made it six consecutive wins in just 16 days to further widen the 8-1 team’s advantage at the top of the NBL ladder.
It was always going to be a tough assignment for United without injured stars Ian Clark (leg) and Matthew Dellavedova (concussion) and the Hawks building momentum with a thrilling win over Cairns on Thursday night, but Goulding led the way with a superb 33 points on 11/18 shooting, including seven threes.
The Hawks were up and about early, feeding off Sam Froling’s energy and supreme guard play from Tyler Harvey, who hit the game-winning shot for the Hawks on Thursday night, and Justin Robinson.
Former NBA player Gary Clark, who had a team-high 24 points, was the major beneficiary for the Hawks with eight first quarter points as part of a 16-point first half as the visitors led 29-24 at the first break.
The three-ball was dropping at a 50% rate in the first for United, led by three first period triples from Goulding and two to Tanner Krebs, who was inserted into the starting lineup for the injured Ian Clark, missing with a leg knock.
A lull went over the stadium when Luke Travers landed awkwardly on a drive to the basket and finished clutching his knee.
Travers limped to the changerooms but was cleared of any significant damage and returned for the second half.
The Hawks, with Robinson pushing the pace, opened up a 10-point lead midway through the second with Travers off, but United, led by 21 first half Goulding points, quickly extinguished that with an 11-0 run to take a 52-51 lead at half-time.
Robinson had 12 points and four assists at the half as part of his 20-point, nine-assist game.
With the game in the balance late in the third, Clark landed heavily on his back and retreated to the bench, but he later returned.
Goulding produced a breathtaking behind-the-back pass to an open Shea Ili, but the point guard couldn’t connect on what would have been the play of the week.
Holding a slender two-point lead, United opened the fourth on a 6-0 run, orchestrated by point guard Shea Ili, who had 17 points.
The Hawks refused to go away, a Robinson contested three trimming the Hawks deficit to three, but when Ili completed a three-point play, United was up eight and maintained the advantage.
STEPPING UP
Krebs relished the chance to enter the starting lineup for Melbourne United.
The former Brisbane Bullet was thrust into United’s second scoring option behind Goulding and finished with 14 points and four assists.
Flynn Cameron offered some much-needed bite off the bench.
TIGERS REUNITE
United paid tribute to some of the stars that paved the way for basketball’s growth in Melbourne.
Greats of the Melbourne Tigers’ inaugural 1993 championship-winning team watched the current day stars strut their stuff while they were honoured on the 30th anniversary of their grand final triumph over Perth Wildcats, inspired by a series-clinching 35-point performance from Lanard Copeland.
United coach Dean Vickerman was also honoured for his 300th game, which he celebrated with a win in Tasmania on Friday night.
NBL SCOREBOARD
Melbourne United 96 (Goulding 33, Ili 17, Krebs 14) d Illawarra Hawks 84 (Clark 24, Robinson 20, Froling 12)
At John Cain Arena, Melbourne
UNDERMANNED TAIPANS CLAIM BIG KINGS SCALP
—Matthew McInerney
The understrength Cairns Taipans have claimed a massive character-building scalp of defending champion Kings on a night soured by an injury to star import Patrick Miller.
A heavy mid-air collision just before halftime sidelined Miller with a back injury, and it was Bul Kuol who stepped up in the Snakes’ hour of need to steer them to an 87-80 win.
Kuol played every minute of the remarkable triumph in the Snakes’ return to Cairns Convention Centre, leading the team with a huge 24-point outing.
The NBL22 rookie of the year was a constant and consistent threat for Cairns, hitting important buckets at key moments as the Taipans held on.
Kuol was huge but it wasn’t a one-man show by any stretch for Cairns.
Sam Waardenburg (22pts, 6 reb) showed his maturity to step up in key moments, while Next Star Bobi Klintman (16pts, 8 reb, 3 steals) came up with several big plays throughout a tough night.
The Kings scored inside the first few seconds of the game but were cold from range, hitting just one of their first 16 shots from three-point range across the first half.
Kouat Noi led the Kings with 18 points, while DJ Hogg had 13 points in his first game back from a shoulder injury.
Jaylen Adams (13pts, 8reb) and Jonah Bolden (11pts 7reb) also hit double figures on a tough night for Sydney.
MILLER DOWN
Miller’s injury exposed the injury-affected shortage of playmakers at the Taipans’ disposal.
The star import has carried a heavy load for the Taipans over the past month, and is near irreplaceable given the absence of fellow star import Tahjere McCall and rising Australian star point guard Taran Armstrong leaving a big hole in the rotation.
He’s averaged more than 35 minutes of court time, and is averaging 20.8 points, 6.5 assists and 5 rebounds.
But it went south a minute before half time when a heavy mid-air collision resulted in Miller’s departure from the game.
Miller landed heavily on his back after the collision with Kings forward Makauch Maluach, and the momentum forced his head backwards into the hardwood with a sickening sound which could be heard in the venue.
“He’s limping pretty badly here,” said NBL sideline analyst Derek Rucker.
“I think it’s more the lower back than the head.
“That’s unfortunate as he is a key piece and one of the outstanding players of this competition early in the season.”
As Cairns sought to find The Kings took advantage of the Snakes’ stagnant offence, before the Taipans found a groove on the back of Kuol and Waardenburg.
A WELCOME HOME
This was just the second time the Taipans have played at home in a month in which they have covered 48,000km through NBL and the NBA pre-season schedule.
And boy, did they relish being back.
Cairns jumped out to a six-point lead at the first break, and led by as much as 12 through the second.
Miller’s injury slowed some things down, but the Snakes thrived on the back of the Orange Army’s energy.
EX-SNAKES LEAD KINGS
The spotlight was on DJ Hogg and his first game of the season since moving to Sydney from Cairns, but it was another ex-Snake who kept the defending champions in the contest.
Noi was elevated to the starting lineup in the absence of Jaylin Galloway, and he made every extra minute count as he proved the only King who could inflict any damage on Cairns.
At one point in the second term, he had more than half of his side’s total haul, on his way to leading all Kings with 18 points.
Hogg had a mixed night in his return from a shoulder injury, finishing with 13 points (28 per cent from the field) - and one missed dunk he’d love to take back.
SLOW TO THAW
The Kings were slow to get going across the court, and it was no clearer than from beyond the arc.
Sydney shot 0-from-9 through the first quarter and missed their first 15 three-point attempts.
Jonah Bolden broke the drought in the final minute of the second term.
They finished with nine from 38 from range.
POCKET ROCKET EXPLODES AS PHOENIX ALMOST BLOW IT
Lance Jenkinson
South East Melbourne Phoenix had to withstand a late burst from a never-say-die New Zealand Breakers to make it four straight wins in the NBL at John Cain Arena on Saturday night.
The Phoenix closed out the game 103-100, but only after a minor scare, with the Breakers closing to within two points late after the Phoenix had led by as much as 26 in the third and even 16 entering the fourth.
Forward Cam Gliddon landed a three-pointer at his third attempt for the Breakers to cut the deficit to two with 3.3 seconds left on the clock.
Guard Gary Browne iced the game for the Phoenix at the free throw line, hitting one of two before Mitch Creek, arguably the player of the game with 20 points, six rebounds, three steals and two blocks, collected the rebound.
Parker Jackson-Cartwright scored 33 for the Breakers, while Alan Williams had a team-high 21 points and 13 rebounds for the winners.
Mike Kelly’s Phoenix team has improved to 5-3 after a shaky start and is well entrenched among the contending teams.
Creek applied the blowtorch defensively in the first period.
Creek’s block on a driving Finn Delany, who had 21 points, two first quarter steals and his energetic presence in the post made it hard for the Breakers to penetrate and was infectious on his own team’s defence-first mentality.
Jackson-Cartwright threatened with the Breakers first six points, but the Phoenix led 31-21 after one period with Alan Williams exploiting the Breakers lack of size in the paint and the three ball was falling.
WILL THE THRILL
Will Cummings had the Breakers in a spin cycle, continuing his strong start to the game.
The Phoenix guard had 16 points in the first half on 6-7 shooting.
The offence continued to hum for the Phoenix with the dual point guard threat of Cummings and Browne proving elusive.
The Phoenix lead blew out to 17 midway as their offence ran efficiently with 19-27 from the field in the first half.
A buzzer beating floater from Lamb kept the Breakers in the conversation but the Phoenix led by 12 at the half.
Creek goes off
Just when the Breakers looked to be carving into the half-time deficit, Creek delivered two huge threes.
Browne launched a bomb and a Ben Ayre three extended the Phoenix’s lead to 25.
The Breakers trailed by a massive 84-68 at three quarter time, but came out in the fourth eager to give it one last crack.
Jackson-Cartwright picked the Breakers up off the canvas, poking holes in the Phoenix defence.
A floater from Williams with 15 seconds on the clock settled the nerves for the Phoenix.
ARGY BARGY
Things got a little testy when Williams and Breakers forward Anthony Lamb locked arms, prompting the two teams to come together in disagreement over which player was the aggressor.
It got heated enough for Phoenix coach Mike Kelly and Breakers coach Mody Maor to enter the court to calm their teams down.
Cooler heads would eventually prevail.
Meanwhile, the start of the game was slightly delayed due to the incorrect Breakers rolling out a starting five that was different to the players named to the scorers pre-game.
Maor eventually got the five players he wanted into the game, but it took 12 seconds for a stoppage.
SCOREBOARD
South East Melbourne Phoenix 103 (Williams 21, Creek 20, Browne 18, Cummings 16) d New Zealand Breakers 100 (Jackson-Cartwright 33, Delany 21 McDowell-White 14)
At John Cain Arena, Melbourne
BULLETS HEAP MORE PRESSURE ON BATTLING WILDCATS
Brad Elborough
The Brisbane Bullets broke a four-game losing streak on Friday night with a thrilling 84-79 win over the Perth Wildcats at RAC Arena.
They nearly blew it though, threatening a few times to give up a 17-point fourth-quarter lead.
But the Bullets managed to find a big basket every time Perth drew close and led from start to finish.
The Wildcats helped too with poorly timed fouls and Bryce Cotton was held to 10 points.
The best last-term team in the competition were hunted by the Wildcats in the final 10 minutes, led mainly by Keanu Pinder.
But some big plays down the stretch by Tyrell Harrison and Josh Bannan saw the visitors home.
The Bullets stunned the Perth crowd early with a dominant opening term that paved the way for the much-needed win.
It drew boos from the Perth crowd, amazingly directed at the home side.
Norton elevated
Mitch Norton had his first start for the Bullets since being let go by Perth at the end of last season.
The opportunity has come about due to a hamstring injury to Shannon Scott, that’s likely to keep him sidelined until round 8.
Norton hit the first points of the game and of the second half too. He also finished with a handy eight points and four assists.
Captain Nathan Sobey again led scoring, with 17 points, while Bannan finished with 15 and Chris Smith 16.
CATS HIT ROCK BOTTOM
Usually, any booing at RAC Arena is saved for former Wildcats players, like what Luke Travers attracted a week ago when he returned ‘home’ wearing a Melbourne United shirt.
But the Red Army focussed their anger at their own, surely for the first time ever, on Friday night, as Perth found itself trailing 17-3.
The frustrations of the past few weeks were showing on the faces of everyone engaged with the Wildcats club.
Perth had made just one of 11 field goal attempts at the time. And it got worse, as they sunk to a 7% field shot conversion (one of 14 attempts) before finishing the first term with just nine points (20-9).
Sobey had eight points alone.
BATTLE OF THE BOARDS
Brisbane has just one more game to get through (this Sunday against the Tasmania JackJumpers) before Aaron Bayne’s suspension ends and he is available again.
Perth has been struggling on the boards all season, down a total of 49 rebounds in six games before Friday.
Even without Bayne, the Bullets took advantage over Perth in this air, with a 46-39 advantage.
Sam McDaniel pulled down eight rebounds.
UP AND COMING STARS
Zikarsky wasn’t the only Next Generation player on the court, with Perth boasting young gun Alex Sarr.
A highlight of this clash was the two going tow to toe for a lot of the game.
Zikarsky produced a key moment midway through the third term when he blocked Sarr’s drive, when the game was nervously poised at 54-44.
He then blocked Hyum’s shot before Chris Smith dropped a three pointer, taking the margin back to 13 points.
OFFENSE IN COTTON WOOL
Perth coach John Rillie has been looking at ways of getting his team’s offense going.
And his star Cotton has personally taken the blame for the Wildcats poor start to the season.
He led the NBL scoring last season, with 23.5 points per game.
Cotton hasn’t reached 23 in any one game this season, only twice making it to 20.
He was kept quiet by McDaniel on Friday, with just three points in the opening half. His four assists and three steals were keeping the Wildcats in the game though.
At half-time, they trailed 42-36.
This is a team that scored 200 points in the first two games of the season.
They are now on a four-game losing streak of their own, averaging just 81 points in that stretch.
UNITED’S TITLE STATEMENT IN APPLE ISLE
—Ryan Rosendale
Melbourne United survived a highly entertaining last-quarter comeback against the Tasmania JackJumpers at MyState Bank Arena on Friday night to remain atop the NBL24 table.
In an early season top of the table blockbuster, it was Melbourne who emerged victors 90-82, thanks to a dominating third quarter, to hand the JackJumpers their first loss at home this season.
Superstar Ian Clark (19 points and three assists) was electric throughout the contest while big man Jo Lual-Acuil (17 points and 10 rebounds) was also strong in the win with the JackJumpers unable to stop the big man’s dominance at stages throughout the game.
The home side started the game in incredible touch, with a Milton Doyle and Marcus Lee combination putting in the opening score of the game.
It was the start of a 12-4 run for the JackJumpers before the in-form Jordon Crawford nailed his first three of the night to extend the lead to 11.
That jumped to 13 before United launched a fightback – largely thanks Lual-Acuil Jr (9 first quarter points) that culminated with confusion on the buzzer and scores locked at 21 apiece.
Despite Crawford draining an early three to open the second, Melbourne broke out to a seven point lead with the matchup between the JackJumpers import and Shea Ili the highlight of the half.
Crawford finished with 11 points for the half while Ili was kept scoreless (0-4) with a charging foul in the final minutes on the latter the culmination of an entertaining first-half duel.
After taking a 43-42 lead into the half, United got on top throughout the third and jumped the home side on both ends of the floor, outscoring Tasmania 30-15.
It was a much closer affair in the final quarter that saw Ili fouled out in the final two minutes but despite Tasmania closing the margin to six with under a minute to play, and a Scott Roth coach’s challenge denied by the officials, Melbourne’s third quarter dominance was enough to see them hold on and take their NBL24 record to 7-1.
Tasmania will now face Brisbane on Sunday while Melbourne host Illawarra.
HAWKS SINK SNAKES WITH FINAL-SECOND MIRACLE
—Matthew McInerney
A miraculous all-or-nothing three-pointer from Tyler Harvey has handed the Hawks just the second win of their NBL campaign after an 84-83 win to deny a gutsy Taipans at Wollongong.
Harvey had previously landed just three of his 12 shots from range, but he landed a miraculous long range bomb in heavy traffic to seal a breakthrough win for the Hawks, and under-pressure coach Jacob Jakomas.
The sharpshooting guard finished with 20 points and five assists for the night, while former Boomers forward Sam Froling grabbed a 16-point, 13-rebound double-double to bring much-needed joy to the long-suffering fans at the ‘Gong.
The Hawks led by as much as 13 points in the second term but the Snakes showed the fight coach Adam Forde has instilled in this Taipans team over his time in the tropics to play their way back into the contest.
Veteran point guard Patrick Miller proved his weight in gold once again as he put up an impressive stat line of 24 points, six rebounds and seven assists, and kept his turnover count to just the single wayward pass.
Bul Kuol had 19 points, while Sam Waardenburg (14pts, 5 reb) and Sam Mennenga (10pts) also hit double digits.
But Harvey couldn’t be denied, landing a mercurial three-pointer with just 0.2 seconds left on the clock.
SLOW BURN
Taipans players have conceded they’re not quite at 100 per cent and it showed in the opening half of their return to the NBL.
Cairns have been around the world and back again in a busy past month, with games in four different countries in the past three weeks.
Illawarra capitalised in the first term, opening a nine-point lead by the break, but that signalled the start of the Snakes’ fight back.
To get back into the game at all despite being two playmakers short in Tahjere McCall (family) and Taran Armstrong (foot) shows the promise of this Taipans team and potential of what they could do this season.
But they need to be better if they are to turn the opportunity into wins.
FROLING ROLLING
Is Sam Froling the Hawks’ “Franchise Guy”?
If he’s not, he should be – the bloke never stops.
Arguably the most consistent man at Illawarra in recent seasons, Froling has matured into potentially the most important piece of the roster.
Froling double-doubles are plentiful, and the Townsville product’s energy at both ends of the court makes such a massive difference to this team.
THREE OF WOE
The land of plenty became the land of paltry as both sides struggled from long range.
When the fourth quarter started they had hit a combined 10 of 50 shots from beyond the arc – Hawks had 6/26, while Cairns were 4/24.
It set up a shootout in the last term, where whichever team hit more than they missed could potentially prevail.
Harvey landed the killer blow, hitting his fourth trey from his 13th attempt to drive the dagger into Cairns and seal the Hawks’ second win of the season.
REJUVENATED 36ERS CONTINUE SEASON REVIVAL
—Jason Phelan
The rejuvenated 36ers’ season continued to gain momentum on Thursday night, Dejan Vasiljec and Isaac Humphries starring as Adelaide came from behind to score a 12-point win over New Zealand, 97-85.
The Sixers trailed by a point heading into the final term in Auckland, but Vasiljevic got hot from three-point range and CJ Bruton’s side outscored the Breakers by 13 points down the stretch to roll to a third win in the past four games.
Humphries was outstanding throughout, finishing with 17 points and 11 rebounds, while Vasiljevic has added an attacking edge to his new side, finishing with a team-high 24 points on 7-from-15 shooting, including 5-from-9 from three-point range.
The Sixers didn’t help themselves with 10 turnovers in the first half to New Zealand’s four, to trail by four points at halftime.
Adelaide didn’t improve its ball security in the second half, finishing with 23 turnovers, but the 36ers’ improved offence was critical to the result.
Rebounding was also key for Bruton’s side, the Sixers finishing on the good side of a lopsided 41-24 count.
JAM FOR JAM
The Breakers, noted slow starters having lost 10 of their last 12 first quarters, sounded an early warning, Zylan Cheatham with 10 points as the home side edged to a two-point lead at the first break.
Cheatham hit double figures in emphatic fashion, the US import gleefully latching onto a deft Will McDowell-White lob pass to stuff it down to the delight of the home fans.
The pair enjoyed the hook-up so much they did it again in the second quarter and again in the third.
Trentyn Flowers, who didn’t see any court time in the 36ers’ last-start win against Perth, made an early splash.
The Next Star had his pocket picked at one end, but responded by exploding to the rim to stuff down a majestic right-handed dunk that was a sight to behold.
DJ’S DOUBLE TON
Vasiljevic’s first-half three-pointer was the 200th of his NBL career.
Unfortunately for him and the Sixers, it was his only triple to halftime and one of the visitors’ three from long range, while the Breakers had six three-pointers on 6-from-12 shooting.
Three-point shooting was always going to be a key factor in the clash, with New Zealand First in the league in shooting percentage outside the arc and Adelaide last.
Vasiljevic warmed to the task with another four triples in the second half, his third from way downtown three minutes into the final term putting his side in front.
Sunday Dech extended that lead with another dagger from long range a minute later, the visitors leading by seven points with six minutes remaining.
KELL CLOUD
Trey Kell III was under an injury cloud going into the match and was only cleared of an arm contusion hours before the game.
The import was quiet in the first half with just three points, but was warming up with two buckets in the third when he left the floor grimacing in pain and didn’t return.
The Breakers suffered their own major injury blow in the fourth when Cheatham pulled up lame and was helped from the floor by training staff and also didn’t return.
More Coverage
Originally published as NBL Week 5 news: Brisbane Bullets win 90-87 over Tasmania JackJumpers, Melbourne United win 96-84 over Illawarra Hawks
Crosscourt: Phoenix mentor safe, but for how long?
South East Melbourne will stay the course with under pressure coach Mike Kelly — for now. Plus, here’s why Montrezl Harrell escaped sanction despite shoving a referee.
SuperCoach NBL fast trades, tips for Round 4
One player should be at the top of the shopping list for your SuperCoach NBL team this week. See the moves to make to get your team firing for round 4 in minutes.