Bullets fall in seesaw Battle with Cairns

An undermanned Brisbane Bullets side were well and truly in the fight against Cairns, before a fourth quarter blitz saw the Taipans record a 102-94 win.

Robert Franks led the way with 22-points and six rebounds on the night, which is the second most points he’s scored in a game this season – behind his 28-point night at Perth.

Lamar Patterson continued his purple patch of form with another notable performance, despite the loss. The American forward had 16-points on the night, and also added five boards and three assists.

Playing without regular starters Anthony Drmic and Nathan Sobey, captain Jason Cadee (15 points and five assists) and Tanner Krebs (10 points) came into the starting line-up for tonight’s clash. Brisbane were also without Jack Salt and Max Mackinnon due to Covid protocols.

The Bullets got off to a slow start in front of their home fans, unable to register points on the scoreboard for the first two minutes. But regular starter Robert Franks stepped up early, scoring in back-to-back possessions.

On the defensive end of the floor, centre Tyrell Harrison was making his mark. The New Zealand international had two blocks inside the first six minutes of play.

The Taipans largely controlled the first quarter though, leading by as much as 13 in the first term.

But, a late 12-4 run from the Bullets saw them go into quarter time down by just five. Franks had a three before a buzzer beater from Cadee from long-range had the home crowd loud and on their feet.

The second quarter was at times Isaiah Moss’s quarter, with the American recruit building off his first points in Bullets colours. A field goal from Moss brought up the first points in his NBL career, before scoring a three-pointer shortly after.

Brisbane fought hard and were eventually rewarded, getting their first lead of the game late in the half. Tom Digbeu had a block on the defensive end before Deng Deng converted an and-one at the other end of the court.

Two late free throws from Cairns saw the two teams go into the main break all locked up at 53-all.

It was end-to-end basketball in the third quarter, with the two teams trading the lead as the quarter went on.

Deng Deng and Isaiah Moss had strong quarters, with both players giving the Bullets the lead with baskets during the quarter.

One of the plays of the game came on the defensive end from Moss, after he gave the ball away. Following his turnover, the American tracked the fast break attempt from Cairns back. efore a well-timed block had Bullets fans on their feet once again.

The Taipans did manage to go into three-quarter time with a two-point lead.

But in the final quarter, Cairns outscored Brisbane 29-23. An 8-2 run early on the quarter was quite telling, before another 10-2 run later.

Speaking after the match, coach James Duncan spoke about the effort in defence and what it’s going to take for the Bullets to return to winning ways.

“Four losses in a row, the biggest thing for me that I’m probably most disappointed is…teams that play defence make playoffs and win,” Duncan said following the eight-point loss.

“So for me it’s back to the drawing board and having an understanding from the guys…we need to do defend, and we need to defend at a high level.”

NBL22 Round 10

BRISBANE BULLETS 94 (Franks 22 points, Patterson 16, Cadee 15)

CAIRNS TAIPANS 102 (Deng 26, Kuol 26, Mccall 19)

Next Home Game

The Bullets are set to take the floor again on Friday when we host the Adelaide 36ers at Nissan Arena. That game kicks off at 6:30pm.