Bulla Recap: Melbourne United take care of business against Brisbane

Melbourne United continued its blistering form ahead of the NBL Finals with a convincing Monday night victory over the Bullets in Brisbane.

After a tight first quarter, Melbourne turned up the heat defensively and took the game away from Brisbane as Chris Goulding and Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. featured prominently on the offensive end.

The big man duo of Jock Landale and Mason Peatling got United off to a strong start with back-to-back triples, while Sam McDaniel scored in the paint with strength to open his account. When McDaniel scored again after four minutes of play, Melbourne had jumped out to a 12-6 lead, forcing Brisbane to call a time-out.

Tyrell Harrison was injected into the game for the Bullets and had an immediate impact with an and-1 play and then finished an alley-oop pass from Jason Cadee to have Brisbane buzzing with a three-point lead, 17-14, with three minutes to play in the opening term.

Lual-Acuil Jr. provided United with key buckets down the stretch of the first quarter, while Lamar Patterson was getting busy for the Bullets and helped his side to a three-point lead, 27-24, after one quarter of play.

The second term began with a Goulding three-pointer and it signalled the start of yet another Goulding shooting masterclass as his long-range shooting propelled Melbourne to a dominant second quarter.

Yudai Baba also came to the fore in the second quarter with tough defence and his speed caused headaches for the Bullets as he blew past their defence on multiple occasions to score.

Goulding connected on another triple halfway through the term and that kicked off a 7-0 run for Melbourne which included a Landale offensive rebound and score and a Baba steal and lay-up.

When Goulding hit his fourth triple of the evening with three a half minutes remaining in the first half, United’s lead was eight points, 44-36.

The defensive work of Mitch McCarron and Baba was creating havoc and Brisbane simply wasn’t able to get into an offensive groove in the second quarter as Melbourne held the home team to just 11 points for the term.

At the main break, United held a 50-38 lead after a 26-11 quarter. Goulding (12 points) was the leading scorer of the first half.

After dismantling Brisbane from long-range in the second quarter, Goulding got the second half underway in fine style, this time by throwing down a dunk.

Melbourne continued to pile on the points as Ili and Goulding connected on triples and after four minutes of play, United’s lead stood at a game-high 20 points, 60-40.

To the Bullets credit, they fought their way back into the game with an 8-0 run, but Ili ended that run with a tough and-1 play and then a Scotty Hopson three-pointer had United leading by 16 points, 66-50, with two and a half minutes to play in the term.

Nathan Sobey came alive late in the quarter, but Brisbane was unable to cut into the deficit as Melbourne answered every challenge. The quarter finished with a highlight alley-oop connection between Hopson and Lual-Acuil Jr..

At the final break, United held a 15-point lead, 74-59.

The start of the fourth quarter saw Melbourne bring out the party tricks, throwing down a pair of alley-oops and those connections on the offensive end highlighted United’s great ball movement.

Goulding was heavily involved as he assisted on a Barlow triple and Hopson alley-oop, before draining a triple, his sixth of the game, to have Melbourne up by 21 points, 82-61.

Patterson tried to bring Brisbane back into the contest with consecutive buckets and when Harry Froling hit a three with 5:40 remaining, the Bullets trailed by 13 points, 84-71.

McCarron checked back in and put the game to bed down the stretch, leading Melbourne home with assists and a nifty and-1 play.

United claimed an 11-point win, 99-88.

Goulding (game-high 22 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists) was electric in another starring role as he drained six triples, while Lual-Acuil Jr. (18 points and 5 rebounds) and Ili (10 points, 4 rebounds and 3 steals) also scored in double figures.

McCarron (5 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds and 2 steals) led United’s offence beautifully and was key on the defensive end as usual. Sobey (20 points and 4 rebounds) and Patterson (19 points, 4 assist and 3 rebounds) led the way for the Bullets.

The win, Melbourne’s 25^th of the season, marks a new franchise-record for wins in a season. United remains on top of the ladder with a 25-7 record with four games remaining in the regular season.

Next up for United is a Saturday night blockbuster on the road against the Sydney Kings. Round 20 then continues at John Cain Arena against Cairns on Monday 31 May at 8pm.

In what will be United’s second last home game of the regular season and shapes as being a vital one in the race for top spot, it’s time to unite and get behind your team, Melbourne!