Bullets run riot in fourth quarter to claim important win

The Brisbane Bullets have won consecutive NBL games for the first time this season, beating the Sydney Kings 96-87 at Nissan Arena on Friday night.

In front of an energetic and passionate home crowd, the Bullets showed plenty of character to fight their way back from a 15-point deficit at quarter time.

Brisbane just couldn’t seem to get their shots to drop in the first period, shooting 5-15 compared to Sydney’s 60% success rate from the field. The Bullets also had seven turnovers compared to Sydney’s three during the first quarter.

With the opening possession of the second quarter, Lamar Patterson muscled his way into the paint for two very important points in the context of the game.

During this quarter, a technical foul from Sydney’s Xavier Cooks saw him ejected from the game and sent to the changerooms.

The momentum seemed to somewhat swing from here, as the Bullets continued to fight for a comeback. While the Bullets still trailed by 14 at this point, their never-say-die attitude kept them within touching distance of Sydney.

Arguably the offensive highlight of the quarter was captain Jason Cadee converting an and-one with four minutes to play in the quarter. The guard was fouled driving to the basket, before converting his shot from the charity stripe.

On the defensive side of the game, a block from centre Tyrell Harrison in the final seconds of the half saw Brisbane trail by just nine going into the half-time break.

The Bullets got off to a perfect start to begin the second-half, with forward Lamar Patterson scoring with the teams opening possession.

15 second later, Anthony Drmic scored his first points of the night from a Fastbreak setup by a tip from Nathan Sobey.

After this, up stepped Robert Franks who had arguably his best few minutes in Bullets colours. After draining three-pointers on back-to-back possessions, the American also scored a fadeaway jumper a shortly after – scoring eight points in just four possessions.

During the third quarter, Jason Cadee’s second 3PM of the game brough up 200 there-pointers for the Bullets. The 30-year-old, who played his 100^th game for the team last weekend against South East Melbourne, became just the 11^th player in the teams history to score 200 three-pointers for the Bullets.

But before the third quarter was over, a three-pointer from Nathan Sobey made it a seven-point game – which is how the scores remained going into the final term.

But the fourth quarter was when the Bullets well and truly made their mark.

With the opening possession once again, the Bullets scored again, with Jason Cadee scoring another three-pointer. It was a milestone for the guard, with this effort bringing up 500 3PM in his NBL career.

Nathan Sobey scored a three-pointer of his own with the next possession, before a dunk from Tyrell Harrison shortly after gave Brisbane a one-point lead. They scored the first eight-points of the quarter.

Brisbane also went on a 10-0 run during this quarter, starting with another 3PM from Cadee

The Bullets controlled the fourth quarter, with the icing on the cake being another 3PM from Cadee with five seconds left on the clock.

Nathan Sobey led the way with a season-high 30-points, as well as some important assists. Robert Franks (16 points and 11 rebounds) also had another double-double, his second in as many games including the win over the Phoenix last weekend.

Captain Jason Cadee was also incredible off the bench, adding 18-points and five assists. He had a plus/minus of 24 points. Lamar Patterson also stepped up with 16 points and five rebounds.

Even though the Bullets got a crucial win on Friday night, coach James Duncan wants his team to keep improving.

“We need to be better and we can’t be satisfied with especially the first quarter,” Duncan said following the nine-point win. “We need to be a lot better.”

Also speaking after the match, forward Robert Franks echoed his coaches comments.

“The first quarter obviously wasn’t us but that’s championship basketball…that just continues to show how good this team can be,” Franks said.

“We’ve got to find a way to string W’s and not just go tit-for-tat.”

The Bullets are now above 0.500 and now have a 4-3 record after back-to-back wins.

After a run of games at home, the Bullets are set to play their first away game since their two-game road trip in Perth on Sunday. Brisbane will travel to Sydney where they’ll face the Kings again, this time at Qudos Bank Arena.

NBL22 Round 8

BRISBANE BULLETS 96 (Sobey 30-points, Cade 18, Franks 16, Patterson 16)

SYDNEY KINGS 87 (Adams 33, Vasilijevic 21, Martin 18)

Next Home Game

The Bullets are back at Nissan Arena on Wednesday, 26 January and they’re set to test themselves once again against the current NBL League leaders and reigning champions Melbourne United. Tip off is at 2pm AEST. Get your tickets today!