Bullets fight it out in Perth as Ty returns

The Brisbane Bullets shook off a tough start to fight hard in Perth against the Wildcats but one of the NBL's hottest teams proved too much despite better three-point shooting, Hunter Maldonado firing and Tyrell Harrison's successful return.

The Bullets beat the Wildcats earlier this season at RAC Arena and Harrison was at the forefront of that. The powerhouse centre returned from a concussion that had sidelined him since New Year's Day on Friday night.

He had a strong impact in his time too and the Bullets did battle the game out, but ultimately it was falling behind 18-2 in the opening minutes that left them with too much work to do and the Wildcats prevailed 94-75 as they gear up for a finals run.

The three-point shooting was a bit better from the Bullets than it has been with 10/24 at 42 per cent but this time it was the finishing closer to the basket that was the problem going 16/39 at 41 per cent inside the arc along with making just 13/23 from the free-throw line.

Hunter Maldonado powered through hurting an ankle and top-scored for Brisbane with 18 points with seven assists, six rebounds and three steals on shooting 5/8 from the field, 2/3 from long-range and 6/8 at the foul line.

Tohi Smith-Milner also shot the ball well going 3/5 from behind the arc for 10 points with two rebounds while Alex Ducas hit both his long-range attempts for eight points and three boards with captain Mitch Norton also knocking down two for eight points.

Tyrell Harrison made an encouraging return from his concussion symptoms and while limited to 14 minutes in his comeback, he made an immediate impact for nine points and four rebounds while his front court partner Jacob Holt had seven points and seven rebounds.

Terry Taylor also finished with eight points and four rebounds, and Taine Murray seven points.

Kristian Doolittle continued his dominant form for Perth with 28 points, seven rebounds and six assists with Elijah Pepper adding 20 points and five assists, and Jo Lual-Acuil Jr 15 points, eight rebounds and two assists.

It was a nightmare start for the Bullets with the Wildcats racing out to an 18-2 start and the careless turnovers were mounting with Brisbane not even able to give themselves a chance to get up many shots, let alone score.

However, things began to change when Tyrell Harrison checked into the game and he scored immediately before Alex Ducas also landed a three-pointer.

Brisbane then went on an 8-0 run including a triple from Hunter Maldonado and the deficit was back to just five before the Wildcats went into quarter-time leading 29-19.

The Bullets also had a good start to the second period including a triple from Taine Murray but Perth were again able to push their lead out to 16 points again.

Brisbane, though, kept on fighting out going into half-time with the Wildcats lead at 51-37 with Maldonado having 11 points and six assists, Jacob Holt seven points and six rebounds, and the returning Harrison five points, three boards and three assists.

It was another 5-0 run to start the second half for the Bullets including a three ball from Mitch Norton before Harrison added an and-one not long after his first minutes of the third quarter too.

Norton and Tohi Smith-Milner also landed three-pointers just before three quarter-time where the 'Cats were leading 76-55.

The Bullets did keep fighting and went on an 11-2 run early in the fourth quarter to cut the 'Cats lead back to 15 points, but that was as close as they would get with the home team ending up scoring the 19-point victory to continue their hot form ahead of the finals.

The Bullets now have one game left in their season and it's a whole week away before they host the league-leading Sydney Kings next Friday night at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre.

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL SEASON 2025/26 – ROUND 21

BRISBANE BULLETS 75 (Maldonado 18, Smith-Milner 10, Harrison 9)

PERTH WILDCATS 94 (Doolittle 28, Pepper 20, Lual-Acuil Jr 15)

BOX SCORE