Bullets fight hard for enthusiastic home crowd

The Brisbane Bullets weren’t interested in excuses and put in a standout performance against the odds only to fall agonisingly short with the Tasmania JackJumpers scoring the last five points to win 84-82.

The Bullets were playing their first home game of NBL26 at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre with a strong crowd of 6946 and they saw a performance full of heart despite the absence of Casey Prather, Javon Freeman-Liberty, Mitch Norton and Sam McDaniel.

The Bullets broke the game open with the last 12 points of the third quarter and were leading by as much as nine in the fourth term, and still by three heading into the final minute only to end up losing by two.

Jaylen Adams finished with 19 points, seven assists, four rebounds and four steals for the Bullets while Taine Murray not only hit his first NBL field goal, but delivered 17 points, two rebounds and two assists on 7/10 shooting overall and 3/5 from downtown.

Alex Ducas also ended up with 12 points and two rebounds with 4/9 from three-point territory with Tyrell Harrison contributing eight points and seven boards, and Tohi Smith-Milner seven points, 10 rebounds and two assists.

Tristan Devers provided seven points and four assists with Jack Purchase adding six points, Cal Dalton four points and two rebounds, and Lamar Patterson two points, three steals, two rebounds and two assists.

Former Bullet Josh Bannan finished with 23 points and 15 rebounds for Tasmania with TJ Starks adding 18 points and Will Magnay 13 to go with eight boards.

Jaylen Adams opened up the game's scoring with a three-pointer for Brisbane for his first points at home with the Bullets before Taine Murray made his first field goals of his NBL career with the team's next five points.

He ended up hitting another three-pointer shortly before quarter-time as well and Brisbane were doing well to stick with Tasmania and limit their advantage after the first 10 minutes to 22-21.

Alex Ducas then put Brisbane in front when he hit a three ball to open the second quarter before Adams scored the next four points, and when Ducas hit another triple, the Bullets were again up by three.

The lead got out to four and was still three by half-time in favour of the home team with Murray and Adams combining for 27 points on 11/15 shooting for the Bullets.

Tasmania had managed to open up a four-point lead after seven straight points late in the third quarter, but then Brisbane caught fire in spectacular fashion to have all the momentum by three quarter-time.

It started with a finish inside from Cal Dalton for his first points of the season before Jack Purchase knocked down a couple of three-pointers, and Murray and Tristan Devers also scored for the 12-0 run and an eight-point lead heading into the fourth.

Murray nailed a third three-pointer of the night early in the fourth to put the Bullets up by nine points but the JackJumpers responded going on a 16-4 run following that to be leading by three.

Adams and Harrison scored to keep Brisbane in striking distance, and then it was Ducas with a clutch three that put the home back in front with two minutes to play.

Harrison stretched the lead to three soon after but then in a dramatic last minute a Josh Bannan basket wasn’t called for a charge for Tasmania, before Will Magnay was wide open for a dunk and then Magnay was given the benefit of taking a charge on Harrison.

The end result was a heartbreaking two-point loss for the Bullets but one that they can take plenty of heart from with the fight they showed.

The Bullets are back on the road now next Saturday night when they take on the defending champion Illawarra Hawks in Wollongong.

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL SEASON 2025/26

BRISBANE BULLETS 82 (Adams 19, Murray 17, Ducas 12)

TASMANIA JACKJUMPERS 84 (Bannan 23, Starks 18, Magnay 13)

BOX SCORE