Bullets fall short of Wildcats after fourth quarter fight back

The Brisbane Bullets have gone down fighting at home against the Perth Wildcats, losing what was a game of two halves 95-83.

Robert Franks was a standout for the home side with 21-point and eight boards. Lamar Patterson impressed, with the American adding 16-points and eight assists.

Deng Deng’s purple patch also continued with the 30-year-old scoring 12-points, which was the third highest of any player on the home side.

Brisbane were without two of their regular starters for this highly anticipated clash, with Nathan Sobey and Tyrell Harrison having both been ruled out for this round 15 matchup through injury.

Round 15 is also the NBL’s Indigenous round, with the Bullets and Wildcats walking onto the court side-by-side for a powerful welcome to country.

Wearing their NBL22 Indigenous jersey designed by Janelle McQueen, the Bullets raced out to an early lead.

Centre Jack Salt got it done on both ends of the floor early-on, in the lead-up to the first points of the game. After getting a steal around half-court, the New Zealander tipped in a rebound to open the scoring.

Brisbane were impressive on the defensive end of the court, with the Wildcats needing three and a half minutes to score their first points of the contest.

Arguably the highlight of the half was a three-pointer from Robert Franks, which was another basket on his way to a team-high seven points in the first. The Bullets had a slight edge on the back of this three-pointer, going into quarter time with a two-point lead.

Brisbane had arguably their best quarter of the match in the second period, continuing to play at an impressive level.

Anthony Drmic had an instant impact to start the quarter, scoring Brisbane’s teams first points of the quarter, before his first dime of the game shortly after.

At times, it was a seesawing contest. Brisbane took a 31-30 lead with just over five minutes to play as Jason Cadee regathered a fumble to convert a layup.

From there, Brisbane took control.Perth called a timeout with just under three minutes to play after the bullets went on a 9-0 run. Isaiah Moss, Lamar Patterson and Jason Cadee all contributed to the run, with the hosts racing out to a 40-34 lead.

Brisbane remained in control for the remainder of the half, leading by five at the main break. By this stage in the match, the Bullets had 10 assists and had converted 20 field goals, compared to Perth’s three assists and 16 baskets.

The third quarter was the difference between the two teams. Perth started the third with an 8-0 run, racing out to a 50-47 lead. The visitors had gone on a 26-4 run at one stage – including an 18-2 run at one stage during the quarter.

Brisbane shot 3-19 from the field in this period, compared to Perth scoring 56% of their shots. After leading by five at half-time, the Bullets went into the final quarter down by 13-points.

The Bullets showed plenty of fight in the final term though. Their never say die attitude saw them go on a 10-0 run, trailing Perth 67-72. But Brisbane couldn’t quite recover, as the Wildcats recorded a win.

After the match, Brisbane coach James Duncan spoke about the third quarter which arguably decided the game today.

“They’re a very good team and we fell into the trap of, we missed a couple of easy shots or at least open looks,” Duncan said.

“Hopefully something positive will be happening in the next game.

“First half I’d say was an A, second-half was a C-minus.”

Robert Franks echoed Duncan’s comments after the game, saying that Perth would likely be a top four team.

Franks described the third quarter performance as being “the old Bullets”, and that they were looking to improve.

Up next for Brisbane is another home game here at Nissan Arena, with the team set to host Cairns Taipans in the Sunshine Stoush next Sunday.

NBL Round 15

BRISBANE BULLETS 83 (Franks 21-points, Patterson 16, Deng 12)

PERTH WILDCATS 95 (Law 24, Cotton 22, Blanchfield 13)

Next Home Game

Rivalries always mean more, so the team will be out to claim bragging rights in the next instalment of the Queensland derby.

The team always play better in front of a packed house so make sure you grab your tickets, and come down to Nissan Arena on March 20. Tip-off is at 2:00pm AEST. Tickets available HERE.