Mitsubishi Match Recap: Hungry Jack’s NBL26 - Round 8, Game 2 v South East Melbourne Phoenix

Melbourne United have extended their all-time Throwdown advantage to 21-9 with a victory over the South East Melbourne Phoenix on Saturday evening.

After giving up the opening point of the game on a free throw to South East Melbourne, United’s defence locked in.

Melbourne forced the Phoenix into six consecutive misses from the field, which created opportunities at the other end.

Finn Delany got to the free throw line, Jesse Edwards threw down his first dunk of the game on a nice feed from Milton Doyle, while Chris Goulding made no mistakes on his look from behind the arc.

Even when South East Melbourne did start to find some consistency, Tyson Walker kept the scoreboard ticking over for United, tallying 10 points in the period through aggressive plays at the rim and beyond the arc.

Despite this, a 10-0 run from the Phoenix had them well positioned to take control of the game, but some strong defensive plays from Edwards and Fabijan Krslovic brought Melbourne back within one point at the break. 

While it was a slow start to the second period, Walker and Delany settled the lineup with their two-way play.

Walker continued to work his way inside, first for a layup of his own before feeding Delany and Krslovic for good looks.

While this had United poised to take control of the game, turnovers hampered the visitors.

12 turnovers in the first half helped give the Phoenix eight more shots than Melbourne and gave them a lead with time running down in the period before Doyle did what he did best, cashing in on a clutch shot to tie the game.

After a hectic final few seconds, it was Walker again who created a wide open look for Kyle Bowen to beat the buzzer and give United a 47-45 advantage at half time.

Looking to build on their slight advantage, Melbourne’s starting group put together a strong showing at both ends.

Walker and Doyle each got into the paint for tough layups before Delany cut baseline for a powerful dunk.

The star Kiwi followed this up with a triple from the corner, which came after an emphatic rejection from Doyle.

More long-range success from Goulding and Walker, as well as a layup from Bowen rewarded United’s stout defence which limited the Phoenix to just 12 points in the period and gave Melbourne a 68-57 lead with 10 minutes to play. 

With the taste of two consecutive losses in their mouth, United would not be denied in the fourth quarter, dominating South East Melbourne through great team basketball.

Delany found Edwards on a behind the back feed for a thunderous jam, Walker got to the cup for a lefty layup, Doyle splashed a triple, and Tanner Krebs sliced to the hoop for a finish, putting Melbourne up by 18 points.

The ball continued to move well, resulting in three more long-bombs from Walker, Krebs and Goulding, all before Edwards rolled to the rim for another dunk to put the icing on victory.

This ends the Phoenix’s five-game winning streak, and gives United a league-best 10 victories to close Round 8.

They will next take the floor on Saturday 15 November from 5:30pm inside John Cain Arena for a battle against the Brisbane Bullets.

The game will be a celebration of our fans as part of the Member Appreciation Game. 

Tickets are available here.

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