Mitsubishi Match Recap: NBL25 Round 6, Game 2 v Cairns Taipans
Written By
Melbourne United Media
Melbourne United have finished Round 6 with a perfect record after a huge win over the Cairns Taipans.
From the opening minutes of the game, it was clear that United were locked in at both ends of the court.
The home side raced out to a 9-2 start through Flynn Cameron and Jack White, who stifled the Taipans on defence and played with force on offence.
This continued when Dean Vickerman went to his bench, with the returning Matthew Dellavedova hounding Cairns’ ball-handlers and Marcus Lee challenging everything at the hoop.
This allowed Melbourne to extend their advantage to 11 points to close the first period up 23-12.
This strong play extended into the second quarter, as United whipped the ball around the court to find the best shot.
Melbourne tallied 16 assists on 20 made baskets in the first half, with the likes of Rob Loe, Ian Clark, Akech Aliir and Chris Goulding benefiting from the slick ball movement.
Fresh off his 25-point performance in Wollongong, Goulding looked equally as dangerous on his home court, scoring seven points in less than 2 minutes to help United push their lead out beyond 20 points.
As good as United’s offence was, it was on the defensive end that was making the difference. The Taipans only managed 30 first-half points, shooting the ball at just 22% from the field.
This, along with a three-pointer from White, gave Melbourne a 54-30 lead heading into the major break.
United came out of half-time with a three-point barrage, cashing in seven long-range makes across the third term.
Among those who contributed to this was White, who set a new career-best with his fourth triple of the game.
CG43 and Clark each sank a pair of long range makes, pushing Melbourne’s lead out to as many as 38 points.
While the Taipans were able to cut into the margin slightly, a late triple from Matthew Dellavedova put United up by 35 points with 10 minutes remaining.
With the win all but sealed, Melbourne went to their bench, who fed off the energy from the crowd to keep the lead going up.
All three Development Players, Campbell Blogg, Joel Foxwell and Tom Koppens all hit the scoreboard, while Cameron continued to fill up the stat sheet.
Starting his second consecutive game, the kiwi-guard equaled his career-high with 18 points to go along with 10 rebounds.
Ultimately, United finished with a 43-point victory, the second largest in the club’s history.
Melbourne will be back at John Cain Arena on Thursday evening for a clash with the Sydney Kings at 7:30pm.