Bulla Recap: Melbourne claim 2021 Regular Season Championship in win over Perth

Melbourne United locked in top spot on the ladder and claimed the NBL 2021 Regular Season Championship with a strong, defensive-minded win over the Wildcats in Perth on Friday night.

Heading into the top-of-the-table clash, Melbourne knew a win would lock in top spot and a relentless Mitch McCarron – who played his 100^th game for United and 100^th game in a row – led the team home.

Perth was the team that got out of the blocks quickest, scoring the first five points and Melbourne Coach Dean Vickerman clearly wasn’t pleased, calling a time-out less than two minutes into the game.

Jock Landale responded immediately with two buckets in the paint and when Yudai Baba connected on a triple with just over four minutes to play in the opening term, United owned their first lead of the game, 9-8.

David Barlow, who has been on fire from deep lately, hit his first long-range attempt of the night and suddenly Melbourne was rolling. Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. and Scotty Hopson were elite in the closing few minutes of the first quarter, with Lual-Acuil Jr. scoring eight points in just three minutes and Hopson doing a bit of everything with 4 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists to quarter time.

With those two leading the second unit, Melbourne finished the quarter on a 20-4 run to take a 24-12 lead into the first break.

After a dominant first term, Lual-Acuil Jr. continued to do as he pleased on the offensive end. Perth made shots, but Melbourne answered the challenge through Lual-Acuil Jr.  and when he threw down a dunk after two and a half minutes, the Wildcats called a time-out, trailing by 11 points, 31-20.

In the second half of the term, turnovers proved costly for United and the Wildcats began to find their groove on both ends of the court as their intensity lifted with Luke Travers playing a key role.

With just 12 points scored in the second quarter, Melbourne’s lead shrunk to seven points at the main break, 36-29. Through the first 20 minutes, United’s bench had kept them in the game, with the second unit scoring 25 of 36 points, led by Lual-Acuil Jr. with 12 points.

McCarron scored United’s first bucket of the second half after two minutes of play, while triples from Sam McDaniel and Landale had Melbourne boasting a 13-point lead halfway through the term.

The three-point party continued for United as Hopson hit a nifty stepback triple. Clint Steindl responded with a triple of his own and a late bucket from Travers made it an eight-point game, 54-46, with a quarter to play.

The long-range shots continued to fall in the fourth term as both teams got going offensively. Perth’s Corey Shervill hit two threes in the opening minutes of the term, while McCarron also connected from deep.

Then Barlow delivered back-to-back blows from beyond the arc with six minutes on the clock to extend United’s lead to 10 points, 65-55. With Perth hoping to make a run in the final minutes, Baba put that thought to bed with a dagger triple and then Landale followed with an and-1 play with just under three minutes on clock to give United a 13-point lead, 70-57.

McCarron put an exclamation mark on his outing with a late triple. The point guard was sublime in controlling the game and led Melbourne to a 78-64 win.

McCarron finished with 11 points (3/3 from deep), 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals, while Lual-Acuil Jr. (16 points), Landale (14 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists) and Barlow (9 points and 4 rebounds) were also crucial.

Blanchfield (15 points) and Travers (10 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists) were best for the Wildcats.

The win sees Melbourne locked into top spot on the ladder with one game to play before Finals. Their last game of the regular season is a Sunday afternoon match-up against the 36ers in Adelaide. Tip off is at 3pm (AEST).

With Finals just around the corner, now is the time to unite as one, Melbourne. The team has been grinding on the road to finish off the regular season and when Finals get underway, the team will need your support more than ever.