Bulla Recap: United power past Illawarra

A world-class shooting display from Chris Goulding in the first half catapulted Melbourne United to a comprehensive win over the Illawarra Hawks on Tuesday night.

Goulding was scorching hot from deep in the first half, while Jock Landale was dominant on both ends of the court as Melbourne claimed a key win on the road to retain top spot on the ladder.

Illawarra jumped out of the blocks early thanks to Justinian Jessup, who got going offensively. Dean Vickerman was forced to call a time-out after three minutes of play as the Hawks grabbed a 13-5 lead.

Whatever was discussed in the time-out did wonders for United as they lifted their intensity and that all started with a Goulding three-pointer. That triple was a sign of things to come as Goulding exploded for three three-pointers in two minutes to bring Melbourne back to within two points, 18-16, with four a half minutes remaining in the opening quarter.

Landale was making his mark on the contest with big offensive rebounds, blocks and scoring buckets of his own. A pair of David Barlow triples within a minute of play saw United take the lead and hold onto it, while Goulding hit his fourth triple of the term off a ridiculously quick release from the corner to have Melbourne leading by four points, 26-22, with one minute to play.

At the first break, United held a 28-27 lead after hitting seven triples in the opening 10 minutes.

The shoot-out continued in the second quarter as Landale and Jessup traded triples, but then it was the Chris Goulding Show as the superstar sharpshooter was simply unstoppable in the second quarter. After scoring a layup off a beautiful spin move, he then went on to drain three triples and a layup in a deadly and game-changing two-minute stretch.

Those 11 points in two minutes blew the game apart as Melbourne’s lead ballooned out to 16 points, 51-35, with three and a half minutes remaining in the first half.

To Illawarra’s credit, they dug deep in the final minutes and cut the deficit to 11 points at the main break, 53-42. A highlight late in the term came when veteran David Andersen scored his first points of the season with a signature post move.

Goulding’s first half was unbelievable, scoring 25 points on 7/11 shooting from deep, while Jessup (11 points) led the way for the Hawks.

After Goulding dominated the first half, it was Melbourne’s bigs who went to work early in the third term. Landale converted an and-1 play and then sunk a triple, before Peatling scored back-to-back buckets on transition plays.

They then paired up for a dunk when Peatling sent a bullet a pass to Landale in the paint. With that bucket, United’s lead stood at 16 points, 67-51, with just under six minutes to play in the quarter.

The Hawks threatened to work their way back into the game, but United’s ball movement was irresistible which led to consistent buckets for the road team.

Hopson and Ili drained triples in the final few minutes of the quarter and at the last break, Melbourne had doubled its half time lead to 22 points, 81-59.

With the game beyond doubt throughout the last quarter, Melbourne continued to move the ball around and create great scoring opportunities. Hopson, Sam McDaniel and Mitch McCarron kept the scoreboard ticking over and Illawarra was never in the contest down the stretch as Melbourne ran out big winners, 102-87.

United’s unselfishness was on full display all game with superb ball movement and the assists piled up as a result. 27 assists for Melbourne, compared to Illawarra’s 12 told the story of the game as United’s offence fired on all cylinders.

Goulding (25 first-half points) drained seven triples in a ridiculous shooting display, while Landale (21 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 blocks) was the dominant big man on the floor with another double-double.

Hopson (13 points, 8 assists and 3 rebounds), McCarron (7 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists), Peatling and Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. (10 points each) were all important figures for United.

Deng Deng (15 points, 8 rebounds and 4 steals) top-scored for the Hawks off the bench.

With the win, United remain atop the NBL ladder with a 24-7 record, two wins ahead of the Wildcats in second. Next up for Melbourne is a Monday night (May 24) match up on the road against Brisbane at Nissan Arena. Tip off is at 7:30pm.