Mitsubishi Match Recap: NBL26 - Blitz v Brisbane Bullets

Melbourne United have destroyed the Brisbane Bullets on Saturday evening at AIS Arena in Canberra.

Playing in their final game of the NBL preseason Blitz, United came out aggressive from the opening tip, securing a stop at one end before Milton Doyle found Finn Delany in the corner for a triple.

Delany was the star of the opening term, tallying nine points in under five minutes of court time and helping Melbourne go ahead by as many as 13 points.

Also contributing during the run was the defence of Jesse Edwards, who swatted a shot leading to a Doyle triple. He followed this up a few possessions later by working his way to the line for a pair of free-throws.

While the Bullets were able to go on a 6-0 run of their own, a Kyle Bowen floater and Chris Goulding layup gave United a 20-11 advantage to close the first period.

After spending the first quarter playing lockdown defence, Tyson Walker showed out on the offensive end in the second, starting with a pair of lightning quick layups.

A triple from the top of the arc followed shortly after, which was preceded by two more finishes at the rim to give the American 13 points in the term.

Also doing damage at the rim was Edwards, who rose up high for his second block of the night to go with a duo of thunderous alley-oop slams.

The Bullets however showed they were up for a fight, scoring 28 points of their own in the quarter to set the score at 43-39 in Melbourne’s favour at half-time.

Like he did in United’s first game of the Blitz, Tanner Krebs displayed his ability to get buckets quickly coming out of the major break.

The sharpshooting wing cashed in on two looks from deep before slicing to the cup to a layup.

Walker, Edwards, Doyle, and Goulding all scored following this before Kyle Bowen went upstairs to put an exclamation point on a Melbourne fast break.

This allowed United to open their lead back up to 64-56 to close the third quarter.

Looking to put the result beyond all doubt, Melbourne started the fourth period in dominant fashion.

The five-man lineup of Edwards, Daniels, Walker, Bowen and Krebs orchestrated a 17-0 run across a five minute span, suffocating the Bullets with defensive pressure and moving the ball to find open scorers.

When that lineup hit the bench, the scoring didn’t slow down, with Fabijan Krslovic, Tom Wilson, and Goulding all hitting from deep.

Ultimately, United allowed just four points from Brisbane in the final term, running away with a 98-60 victory.

Melbourne will hit the court one final time this preseason in another game against the Bullets on 12 September.