Milton Doyle and Tyson Walker delivered the knockout blows that sent Brisbane spiralling back down to earth after they had impossibly returned from a 20-point deficit to be within three points.
Brisbane lost 95-86 after Doyle’s three threes in the final two minutes and Walker’s steal and subsequent and-one put out the fire of a Jaylen Adams-led Bullets that almost completed a miraculous comeback at the BEC on Friday.
The Bullets had no right to be in a winning position after trailing by more than 10 points for about 30 minutes of the game.
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When United led 82-62 with 6:35 remaining, life had been sapped from the building.
But when Adams (29pts) erupted like he was the 2022 league MVP again, the highlight-starved fans came to life and the Bullets rallied with a new-found fight.
When former Brooklyn Net Doyle drained three triples, the Bullets were put out for good and reminded why starting slow and chasing their tail is not something they can afford to do.
Are United excellent or the Bullets NBL battlers?
Brisbane’s fight in the second half was to be admired after trailing 55-37 and not once threatening to give United a run for their money in the first.
A second half defensive surge amounted to nothing and entering the fourth, down 70-54, Birsbane had a mountain to climb.
They shouldn’t have been in that position in the first place. Tyrell Harrison (six turnovers) did not take good enough care of the ball.
The Bullets missed more free throws than they made in the first half and showed little urgency defensively. It was an underwhelming showing from a team struggling to find continuity without key defender Sam McDaniel and leader Mitch Norton.
Missed opportunities
The Bullets will rue not capitalising on their dogged defensive efforts that restricted United to just 15 points in the third in a game attempt to squash an 18-point halftime deficit.
With Devers leading the charge and Harrison using his long levers to swat away shots, Brisbane halted United’s momentum but in offence couldn’t fire to pull into a winnable position entering the fourth, down 16.
Milton Doyle of United in action.
Milton Doyle of United in action.Source: Getty Images
The hosts leaked four turnovers in the first four minutes of the third, shooting themselves in the foot with poor ball security when strong defence was keeping Melbourne at bay. Melbourne scored four points in the first five minutes but Brisbane could not return serve.
Woah, shooting woes!
The Bullets were their own worst enemies in the first half, won 55-37 by a slick and at times superb Melbourne team that looked more United in multiple facets.
It took Brisbane a dismal 31-16 first quarter to click into gear and when they did, three-point maestro Chris Goulding said ‘no thanks’ with two crowd-silencing treys.
It was 18-9 when the coach Stu Lash called his first timeout with 3:49 left and less than two minutes into the second the visitors led 36-16.
Brisbane got as close as 11 in the half after being down 20 but with shooting splits of 44-22-41, what chance do you have but to teeter around a double-digit deficit.
Apart from Adams’ crafty passing, Devers’ plucky defence and Harrison’s alert rebounding, Brisbane didn’t really look to have much going for them. It made matters worse that they could not lace a three (2-9), compared to 9-20 by United.
Melbourne got 34 points from its bench. Brisbane got four from Adams.
Despite a wild run in the final five minutes, there is a bigger problem that needs fixing in order for playoff hoops to be on the menu.
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JACKJUMPERS LOOKING FOR POSITIVES
Tasmania JackJumpers coach Scott admits his side is ahead of where he thought they’d be despite a loss to the New Zealand Breakers on Friday night.
Roth’s side were well and truly outclassed on the road after going down by 17 points but the NBL championship winning mentor was looking for positives.
The JackJumpers have played five of their first seven games on the road and had travelled across the ditch just hours after beating the Sydney Kings on Wednesday night.
“I’d be lying to you if I thought I’d be sitting here and we’d be 4-3 with the travel schedule we’ve concurred,” Roth said.
“It’s not quite over yet. Seven of our first nine are on the road, we’re not really done with that phase yet.
“Sitting 4-3 with what we’ve gone through. It’s been a really good sign of our guys and the work they’re putting in.”
The JackJumpers now won’t play until Sunday, October 26 against the Sydney Kings, which will be another road game.
“We finally get some rest,” Roth said.
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“These guys deserve it, they’ve been road warriors here.
“The schedule was the schedule and you had to show up and play. We need some time to have some practice time and also get some rest.
“I think it will be good across the board. We’ll see how our guys are mending when we get back.
“Ultimately we have to do better in some areas. There’s a lot of room for growth for us.”
Roth lamented his side’s effort on the glass against the Breakers after giving up 19 offensive rebounds.
The home side finished with 25 more shots for the game, although both sides shot poorly on the night.
“Ultimately they were really good tonight and we weren’t very good,” Roth said.
“The numbers are the numbers at the end of the day.
“We didn’t compete well enough on that side of the ball to give ourselves a good enough chance.
“I think that’s happened to us twice now. You can’t harp on it except we’ll watch some film when we get back.”