WWAG NBL24 Match Recap - Championship Game 2 vs Tasmania JackJumpers

Melbourne United have gone down in Game 2 of the NBL24 Championship series on the road against Tasmania.

After giving up the opening score of the game, Jo Lual-Acuil Jr went to work on the glass for United’s first bucket.

A Shea Ili drive and five quick points from Chris Goulding had Melbourne’s offence humming, however a 7-0 run from the JackJumpers, fuelled by Jordon Crawford, who finished with 13 first quarter points, gave the home side an early advantage.

Needing a spark off the bench, Ariel Hukporti and Ian Clark checked in, scoring seven points of their own to cut into the deficit.

Trailing by four with less than a minute remaining, JLA got himself back involved, tying up the game with free throws and a coast-to-coast bucket to close the period.

With scores knotted up to start the second, Ili wasted no time breaking the deadlock with a triple from the wing.

Clearly sick of Crawford getting what he wanted, Luke Travers locked in on defence, swatting the point guard at the hoop leading to a Lual-Acuil Jr post score.

While Tasmania were able to hit back and retake the lead, Matthew Dellavedova went to his patented mid-range fadeaway before Goulding and Hukporti produced some masterful highlights.

A pair of tough three-point makes sandwiched a huge dunk from Hukporti, allowing MU to extend its lead out to nine points.

Scores from Clark, JLA and Travers followed shortly after, however the JackJumpers showed their fight, closing the gap to four points heading into halftime.

Coming out of the major break, United looked unstoppable, putting together an 11-0 run to start the period and take control of the contest.

The scoring burst featured brilliance from all over Melbourne’s roster, including some tough shotmaking from CG43 and a steal and layup from Ili.

While they were able to build out a solid lead, the JackJumpers slowly worked their way back, cutting into the lead to within three points going into the fourth quarter.

Having wrestled back much of the momentum, Tasmania kept on pushing across the final 10 minutes of what was an intense showdown.

Featuring a number of lead changes and some strong play from both teams, ultimately United fell short of coming away with the victory.

With the series now tied, Melbourne will look to push back in front on Sunday afternoon when they host Game 3 at John Cain Arena.

Less than 200 tickets remain, so get in quick to secure your seat for what is sure to be a can’t miss evening of championship basketball.