Bullets spoil Breakers Spark Arena return

The Brisbane Bullets played gate crashers with a vital 95-83 win over the New Zealand Breakers to remain in finals contention.

The Bullets were simply sublime in the first half, overcoming a vocal crowd of 7612 in Auckland and a fired up Breakers side returning to Spark Arena which has been the scene of their most memorable moments until COVID-19 restrictions hit in early 2020. 

Brisbane needed to play complete team basketball and they did, tearing out to a 21-point first half lead.

New Zealand was willing and tried to blast their way back into the contest with 32 shots from long range, with only 10 landing. The undermanned Breakers were given little chance by a clinical Bullets outfit that is fighting for their post-season lives.

There was no single star this time around for Brisbane, with four of their key players carrying the load. Lamar Patterson was best with 21 points, seven rebounds and four assists, Matt Hodgson had 16 points and nine rebounds while Nathan Sobey had 15 points, seven rebounds and six assists.

New import BJ Johnson continues to improve and played a big role in the first half, finishing with 14 points and four rebounds in his first NBL game out of Queensland. 

Jason Cadee with nine points and eight assists and Tyrell Harrison with six points and five rebounds were also crucial in the team performance.

Breakers import Levi Randolph started the match with steam coming out of his nostrils and was almost unstoppable with 30 points, six rebounds and five steals. 

Finn Delany (17 points, five rebounds), Tai Webster (15 points, four rebounds, five assists) and Corey Webster (13 points, six assists) all toiled as well.

The win means Brisbane remains hanging onto hope by their fingernails. But they face the mountainous prospect of having to beat the South East Melbourne Phoenix twice - and by healthy margins to make up percentage points. 

The Bullets also face finals hopeful Sydney Kings on the run home while the Breakers also have an assignment against the Phoenix. If New Zealand can find a way to win that, it would also play into Brisbane's hands.

BJ Johnson pushed his side in front for the first time and Sobey was a terrier on the defensive end. When Cadee splashed a triple to push the lead out to 20-13, the Breakers needed a time out to regroup.

Big man Colton Iverson was huge on both the defensive and offensive ends out of the timeout, finishing with a huge dunk that cut the margin to just one point. New Zealand had their chances to steal the lead back, but Cadee had the last say of the quarter and Brisbane took a 29-23 lead.

The Bullets roared to a 12-point lead which quickly led to a New Zealand time out. That lead ballooned to 15 before Delany nailed a triple to hopefully stop the rot, only for Harry Froling to immediately respond with a three-pointer of his own.

By the time the half-time siren came it was merciful for the Breakers, the Bullets firmly in control with a 54-35 lead.

The third quarter saw the Breakers come roaring back as their shots began to connect, Tai Webster doing the bulk of the damage to reduce the margin to just 11 at one point. 

You couldn't fault the Breakers effort, but the Bullets were up to the challenge and a Harrison dunk meant they went into the final break with a commanding lead.

The Breakers refused to put the cue in the rack and were more than willing to chance their arm, Corey Webster splashing a corner triple to cut the margin to 12 points. 

But every time they surged the Bullets found a way to break down their structures again, recording another essential to win to keep their finals hopes alive.

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL ROUND 20

NEW ZEALAND BREAKERS 83 (Randolph 30, Delany 17, T Webster 15)

BRISBANE BULLETS 95 (Patterson 21, Hodgson 16, Sobey 15) 

BOX SCORE