Bullets show great heart v 36ers

The Brisbane Entertainment Centre was rocking the most it has so far in NBL26 with the Brisbane Bullets showing great heart to lead the Adelaide 36ers at half-time, and while they ended up being rundown, there was plenty to be encouraged by.

The Bullets' backs were against the wall ahead of hosting the league-leading 36ers on Sunday with Tyrell Harrison (concussion) and Javon Freeman-Liberty (hamstring) joining the growing casualty list.

Then things got even worse on that front when Sam McDaniel injured a calf early in the game after starting off guarding Bryce Cotton, but Hunter Maldonado was in and the Bullets produced a tremendous first half.

When Alex Ducas hit a three on the half-time buzzer, the Bullets were leading 45-38 and the stadium was at a fever pitch.

Even though Adelaide came out to take over in the second half, Brisbane did keep on fighting and there were plenty of positives despite the 36ers going on to win 97-86.

It was an impressive first outing in Bullets colours for Maldonado who played his last game this season with the South East Melbourne Phoenix against Brisbane back on December 20.

He finished with 16 points, nine assists and two steals while going 8/9 at the free-throw line.

It was also a vastly more aggressive showing from import power forward Terry Taylor who ended up with 18 point, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals including a thunderous breakaway dunk on three quarter-time.

The Bullets only shot 5/25 from three-point range but Alex Ducas did go 4/13 in that on his way to 18 points with three rebounds.

Jacob Holt stepped up to start in the absence of Harrison for 15 points with seven rebounds and two steals with Mitch Norton contributing eight points and three assists, and Tristan Devers seven points and three rebounds.

Bryce Cotton might have just two points on 0/5 shooting in the first half, but he finished the game with 23 points and seven assists with 5/6 three-point shooting.

Zylan Cheatham also narrowly missed a triple-double with 17 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds with Flynn Cameron adding 18 points, five boards and three assists, and Isaac Humphries 16 points, three boards and two blocked shots.

Terry Taylor gave the Bullets the perfect start to the game before Ducas also scored, and then the home team went on a 6-0 run thanks to Sam McDaniel and Mitch Norton for them to be leading 11-7.

Still by quarter-time it was a 20-15 advantage in favour of the Bullets before Jacob Holt completed a three-point play to open the second term to push that lead out to eight.

Brisbane stayed in front for most of the rest of the second frame and then had the momentum going into half-time with a three ball from Alex Ducas that had the Brisbane Entertainment Centre rocking.

The Bullets went into the break leading 45-38 on the back of shooting 48 per cent from the field to 35 from the 36ers with Hunter Maldonado making an immediate impact with eight points and five assists while Bryce Cotton also had just two points for Adelaide on 0/5 shooting.

After Perth scored the first 21 points of the second half on New Year's Day after Brisbane led at half-time, it was a similar start once again with the 36ers scoring the first 10 points this time, and opening up the half on a 17-5 run with Cotton starting to warm up.

Brisbane were able to respond, though, and finished the third quarter going on a 10-4 run to cut the Adelaide lead to 68-65 by three quarter-time.

Ducas hit a couple more three-pointers in the fourth quarter to keep the Bullets within striking distance, but the 36ers continued to have all the answers and despite Brisbane's best efforts, the league-leaders went on to score the 11-point victory.

The Bullets now get some time to catch their breath this week after a hectic schedule either side of the New Year before taking on the Cairns Taipans in Far North Queensland in a Sunshine Stoush on Saturday night.

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL SEASON 2025/26

BRISBANE BULLETS 86 (Ducas 18, Taylor 18, Maldonado 16)

ADELAIDE 36ERS 97 (Cotton 23, Cameron 18, Cheatham 17)

BOX SCORE