WWAG NBL24 Match Recap - Championship Series Game 1 v Tasmania JackJumpers

Melbourne United have claimed a Game 1 victory against the Tasmania JackJumpers at home in the NBL24 Championship series.

After giving up the first two scores of the game, Jo Lual-Acuil Jr got United going, getting to the hoop for a pair of buckets to tie the game.

In what was a back and forth affair, both sides leaned on their depth to keep across the first 10 minutes.

Chris Goulding, Luke Travers and Matthew Dellavedova found the bottom on the net from deep, while Ariel Hukporti and Ian Clark drove inside for easy baskets.

This varied attack ultimately favoured United, who took a two point lead into the first break.

JLA started the second term with the same intensity he showcased in the first, finishing a layup to kick off a dominant stretch of play from the All-NBL teamer.

Fuelling a 12-0 Melbourne run, Lual-Acuil Jr first came away with a steal leading to a dunk, before swatting a shot and running the floor for another monstrous slam.

This, combined with some long range makes from CG43, Delly and Ian Clark propelled United in front by 10 points at half-time.

Not content with the current lead, Melbourne’s three-time championship-winning captain went to work.

Goulding caught fire to start the third, scoring eight points in short order to help hold off a JackJumpers run.

JLA followed this up with a pair of tough makes around the basket before Shea Ili brought the crowd to their feet with an acrobatic and-one finish.

Despite all these big plays, Tasmania kept coming, closing the gap to as little as six points.

Looking for something special to help maintain their momentum, Kyle Bowen hit the offensive glass leading to a Dellavedova three-pointer, before Ian Clark splashed a triple from way downtown to beat the buzzer, putting Melbourne back up by 13 points.

With an eye on putting the game to bed, United’s stars took over.

Hukporti skied high for one of his patented alley-oop slams from Delly, putting Fabian Krslovic on a poster in the process.

Goulding followed this up with another deep three-ball to push the MU lead beyond 20 points.

While the JackJumpers kept up their fight, they failed to get closer than 18 points for the remainder of the contest, with Travers and Clark connecting on important baskets to close out the game in style.

In the end Melbourne finished with a 104-81 victory, and now take a 1-0 advantage into Game 2 on Friday 22 March.

Tickets to Game 3 are on sale now! Secure your seat to see United hit the court in their next home game of the Championship series via Ticketek.com.au