WWAG Match Recap - Round 3, Game 2 v Brisbane Bullets

Melbourne United have secured their second win of Round 3, overcoming the Brisbane Bullets at John Cain Arena on Sunday afternoon.

After some free throws from Luke Travers and Matthew Dellavedova got United on the board, Ariel Hukporti showcased some of his flashy footwork, scoring down low in the post.

While the Bullets were able to hit back quickly with a 7-0 run, Melbourne were able to answer back immediately through a Chris Goulding triple and a pair of Kyle Bowen layups.

In a battle of two of the league’s best defences, scoring slowed for both sides before a late Rob Loe floater knotted the game up at 14 after 10 minutes.

Searching for an offensive punch, Brad Newley injected some energy right away for United, getting all the way to the hoop for a score on Melbourne’s opening play.

This seemed to open the floodgates for MU, with Goulding, Loe and Ian Clark all finding the bottom of the net from deep shortly afterwards.

These plays surrounded a highflying alley-oop jam, placed perfectly in the air by ‘Delly’ to Hukporti.

Clearly not satisfied with having hit just one three in the period, CG43 splashed three more bombs from beyond the arc, including one from near half-court.

Goulding’s outburst, combined with some stout defence and a pair of free-throws from Rob Loe in the final seconds, allowed United to push their lead out to 15-points heading into half time. 

Matthew Dellavedova would unfortunately not take part in the second half of the contest after a knock to the head towards the end of the quarter.

Perhaps inspired by seeing his captain go off from three, Travers connected on a triple to start the second half.

‘LT’ was far from done providing highlights though, swatting a shot at the rim leading to a thunderous dunk from Ariel Hukporti.

‘Big A’ was providing United with energy from all over the court, diving on the floor to come up with a steal, which resulted directly in a Tanner Krebs three-ball.

Looking to continue to extend their lead, Melbourne played great team basketball, sharing the ball and playing tremendous defence.

The only Brisbane player able to hit back was Shannon Scott, with the import guard nailling a trio of threes in the quarter to bring United’s lead back to 21 points with 10 minutes remaining.

Looking to eliminate all doubt of the result, MU kept up the pressure, with Shea Ili connecting from deep before Travers got all the way to the hoop for a dunk.

‘IC’ got in on the fun, sinking his second three of the game, while some silky finishing around the basket netted Ariel his second double-double in five games.

Despite a late Bullets run, Shea Ili all but iced the game with his shooting from beyond the arc and the free-throw stripe.

Melbourne United will next face the Illawarra Hawks on the road next Friday in the first of two Round 4 games.