Dellavedova, Travers, Lual-Acuil Jr praised for turnaround

Trailing by 16 points with less than seven minutes remaining in the fourth quarter on Thursday night, Melbourne United were faced with a mighty mountain to climb in order to win Game One of their Playoff series against the Illawarra Hawks.

Needing their collection of stars to stand up and deliver, the home side slowly carved into the deficit, inching closer minute by minute before ultimately tying up the game with under two minutes remaining.

While Chris Goulding led United’s fourth quarter scoring charge and sent the game into overtime, Head Coach Dean Vickerman praised a trio of CG43’s fellow starters for their impact on the game.

Matthew Dellavedova, Luke Travers and Jo Lual-Acuil Jr proved vital in the biggest moments, locking down on defence, controlling the glass, and getting to the hoop to secure the victory.

The trio combined for 13 of Melbourne’s 15 overtime points, while Dellavedova tallied the first 30-point, 10-assist game in the NBL’s 40 minute Playoff history.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Playoffs Delly confirmed ? <a href="https://t.co/A62fzsuMnu">pic.twitter.com/A62fzsuMnu</a></p>&mdash; Melbourne United (@MelbUnited) <a href="https://twitter.com/MelbUnited/status/1765705992749326415?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 7, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Speaking after the game, Vickerman spoke about the high level performances his stars put together.

“It took some absolutely special things (to win),” he said.

“When I look back at it, you have to say Dell (Matthew Dellavedova) was crazy. That’s an absolutely amazing game, certainly the best game he’s ever played for this club.

“LT (Luke Travers)... I thought he was one of the best (players on the court). We could see this coming in the FIBA break, the growth, the aggression, so I’m super happy for those two and then I loved Jo’s turnaround.

“He wasn’t doing what we needed him to do early in the game and then… there’s a period there where he just rebounded and changed everything, didn’t give them second shots, just did exactly what we needed him to do: protect the rim and block shots.”

Travers equalled a career-high with 24 points, while Lual-Acuil Jr swatted four shots in the 115-106 win.

United will now head on the road for Game Two in Wollongong on Sunday afternoon from 3pm.

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