Match Recap: Round 20, Game 1 v Brisbane Bullets

Melbourne United have extended their winning streak to four games on Saturday evening, beating the Brisbane Bullets in a hard-fought contest at John Cain Arena. 

Sporting a shorthanded roster, Brisbane’s perimeter weapons fired early and often to give the visitors the early advantage.

Lamar Patterson, Jason Cadee and Anthony Drmic combined for 24 of the Bullets’ 26 first quarter points, including five makes from beyond the arc.

Tasked with keeping up, Melbourne worked through Jo Lual-Acuil Jr, who attacked Brisbane inside the paint.

Through this, and some nice three-point shooting on their own, United were able to close the gap to just two points to close the first period.

It was a similar story in the second term, as both sides traded shot-for-shot.

Brisbane’s trio continued to attack, as did import forward Robert Franks, who worked inside and out.

Big Jo continued to do his part to keep Melbourne humming, scoring 12 points in 10 minutes, while Ariel Hukporti did his best to attack the Bullets’ zone defence when JLA went to the bench.

Brisbane however worked hard to slow the defending champions, limiting their opportunities and holding onto a 45-46 lead heading into the main break.

Coming out of the main break, both sides struggled.

It seemed as though neither team could get into a rhythm, as each side failed to score 20 points in the term.

One of the lone bright spots of the quarter came in the final seconds, as Dave Barlow cashed a corner three to beat the buzzer and tie the game heading into the final 10 minutes.

Needing an energy boost, JLA got the John Cain Arena crowd on their feet in the opening seconds of the period, slamming down a dunk to give United the lead.

Big Jo couldn’t be stopped for much of the game, finishing with 25 points, 13 rebounds and a pair of blocked shots.

It was a back-and-forth contest through the first five minutes of the term, until Shea Ili provided a huge hustle play to get Melbourne going.

Following a block from Big A, Shili stole away the ball and took it coast to coast for a layup.

Needing a final push to get over the line, Chris Goulding took over, sinking a pair of three-pointers and scoring 10 points in the final term to guide United to a nine-point victory.

The win keeps Melbourne atop the NBL22 ladder heading into their next game against the Cairns Taipans on Monday night.

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