Bullets put up fight against league leaders

The Brisbane Bullets fought hard, but eventually fell to league leaders Melbourne United, 88-79, at John Cain Arena on Saturday night.

The Bullets are still without Australian Boomer Nathan Sobey and starting centre Tyrell Harrison, as well as Tom Digbeu, Tamuri Wigness, Isaiah Moss and Taane Samuel who were sidelined due to illness.

It didn’t stop the Bullets putting together an impressive fighting performance as they looked to claim a late season scalp. Jason Cadee, Lamar Patterson and Anthony Drmic, in particular, stepped up. 

Patterson finished with 23 points and nine rebounds. Cadee added 20 points, six assists and six rebounds and Drmic 19 points, three boards and three assists including going 4/9 from deep. Robert Franks also returned to the line-up adding 10 points, nine rebounds and three blocks.

Brisbane led by six late in the third quarter and still by two with just under five minutes to go, but then Goulding took over for Melbourne.

Despite the absence of six players, the Bullets came out ready to take it to the number one ranked side and led 8-5 early, with Anthony Drmic and Jason Cadee combining for those eight points.

Triples from Shea Ili and Matthew Dellavedova kept Melbourne close but a second triple to Drmic saw Brisbane back up 18-12. The Bullets led 26-23 by quarter-time, with their last eight points courtesy of Lamar Patterson.

Melbourne went on a 10-4 run to begin the second and take the lead 33-30. United extended their lead 40-34, but the Bullets were playing with great freedom offensively.

Brisbane closed the half on a 12-5 run with Drmic going into half-time with 14 points, Cadee 12 and Patterson 10 as they combined for 36 of the team's 46 points to lead Melbourne by one at the break.

The Bullets were battling hard and when Robert Franks and Cadee combined for another five straight points midway through the third term, they extended the lead to four.

They were soon out by six, but Melbourne had tied scores up again thanks to a triple from Dave Barlow on three quarter-time.

The teams continued to trade baskets in the fourth until Goulding knocked down two triples in the space of a minute to spark a match-winning run of 12 consecutive points. It secured the eventual nine-point win for Melbourne.

Hostplus Head Coach James Duncan, while frustrated with the result, was proud of the resilience his undermanned outfit showed.

“We fought, we played for each other and did the right things,” Duncan said.

“These guys have never quit, they never stop playing.”

Looking ahead to the final game of the season he continued, “we have to swallow, move on and prepare ourselves for our last game against Cairns.”

Prior to the game, Bullets Captain Jason Cadee had some words for his team that clearly resonated with the group.

“We have nothing to lose. No-one expects us to win. Everyone’s been sick… let’s just have some fun and play some basketball and see where it gets us,” Cadee said.

Like JD, he was equally proud of his squad after a challenging week.

“We trained with five or six…it was a mess, so to put that aside, play against them [United] get after em’ and push them...it was a good effort. It’s disappointing to lose, but you can’t help but feel proud about how hard everyone fought and put their best foot forward trying to get a W on the road.”

When asked about the final game of the season next week, Cadee said, “You just want to see everyone playing hard and putting their best foot forward.”

“As a collective now, as JD said, it’s about finishing off on the right note.”

The Bullets finish their season with one final game next Saturday also against the Snakes in Far North Queensland.

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL ROUND 20

MELBOURNE UNITED 88 (Lual-Acuil 25, Goulding 13, Ili 13)

BRISBANE BULLETS 79 (Patterson 23, Cadee 20, Drmic 19) 

BOX SCORE