Bullets focus on bounce back after loss in Perth

Friday night in Perth might not have gone to plan for the Brisbane Bullets but the beauty of the NBL is that a chance presents to instantly hit back in Cairns now on Sunday.

The Bullets arrived at RAC Arena for the Friday night match up against the Wildcats in an impressive run of form having won four straight games this season, and also having won on their last trip west earlier in NBL24.

Back on that occasion they won despite the absence of key experienced pair Shannon Scott and Aron Baynes. This time it was three-time NBL champion Casey Prather, 17-year-old Next Star Rocco Zikarsky and Gabe Hadley who didn’t make the trip due to illness.

Brisbane still came into the game full of confidence but it didn't go as hoped with the Wildcats able to flex their muscles with the eventual 118-86 win as they made it five wins in-a-row themselves to consolidate their hold on second position.

There were some positives for the Bullets including the continued form of Tyrell Harrison and getting to the foul line 37 times, but now the quick bounce back in Cairns on Sunday is in order with Prather, Zikarsky and Hadley all good chances to return.

Without doubt, the shining light once again for the Bullets was Harrison. The 24-year-old centre continued his career-best form with another 16 points, nine rebounds and two blocked shots.

Perhaps most impressively given the overall scoreline, the Bullets were only outscored by two points in the 24 minutes of court time he had.

Chris Smith also added some scoring punch and had an efficient offensive night with 15 points in 18 minutes on 5/9 shooting from the field and 3/6 from three-point territory.

Sam McDaniel fought hard on both ends with 12 points, four rebounds and two steals with captain Nathan Sobey contributing 11 points and two rebounds.

Isaac White also had eight points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals, Shannon Scott ended up with seven points and four assists, Josh Bannan seven points and six rebounds, Aron Baynes seven points and six boards, and Mitch Norton three points and two assists on his old home court.

Bryce Cotton finished with 28 points, seven assists and five rebounds for Perth with Tai Webster adding 20 points and six assists, and Keanu Pinder 15 points.

Nathan Sobey opened the game with a three-pointer for the Bullets and he scored the next two points for his team as well in what was an even opening several minutes until the 'Cats blew things open.

They went on a run of scoring nine straight points, and 16 to two to open up a 16-point lead which was at 31-13 by quarter-time.

Perth's lead was out to 47-18 midway through the second quarter, but Brisbane dug deep for the rest of the half with Tyrell Harrison providing a strong inside presence.

He ended up having 11 points and four offensive rebounds to half-time with Chris Smith adding 12 points thanks to two late three-pointers to limit the 'Cats advantage to 57-38 at the main break.

The Bullets then came out and opened the second half strongly with Sam McDaniel and Harrison combining for the first 10 points as part of an eventual 12-4 run.

That saw Brisbane cut the Perth lead back to 11 points and the visitors had picked up the momentum, unfortunately it wouldn’t last and the Wildcats got on a roll again with Bryce Cotton taking charge.

From there, the 'Cats would end up leading by 33 and win by 32 but six late points from Isaac White was another positive the Bullets can take from what was a tough night.

There's no time for the Bullets to stew too much over the result as they now fly straight from Perth to Cairns to take on the Taipans on Sunday in the fourth Sunshine Stouch match up of the season.

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL ROUND 16

BRISBANE BULLETS 86 (Harrison 16, Smith 15, McDaniel 12)

PERTH WILDCATS 118 (Cotton 28, T Webster 20, Pinder 15)

BOX SCORE