Cadee makes history in loss to Cairns

Brisbane Bullets captain Jason Cadee made history in the team’s 88-98 loss to the Cairns Taipans on Sunday afternoon.

Playing in front of his home fans at Nissan Arena, Cadee became the 51^st player in NBL history to notch up 1,000 career assists. The feat also saw him become just the 45^th player to reach both 1,000 career assists and 3,000 points.

Cadee was having a strong outing for the Bullets dropping 12-points before his night got cut short, fouling out late in the third quarter.

Arguably the standout player on either team was Robert Franks, with the American scoring a game-high 22-points, including five three-pointers. Robo also topped the stat sheet in rebounds with 11 boards on his way to another NBL double-double.

The Brisbane crowd was buzzing before another clash between two Queensland rivals, with both teams searching for a win to keep their playoff hopes alive.

Lamar Patterson helped the Bullets get off to a dream start, scoring what could go down in history as one of the quickest baskets in the League’s history.

LP received the ball off the tip and made the most of an open lane to the rim, slamming the ball down with authority to send Brisbane fans into a frenzy.

But Cairns took control of this quarter from then on after going on a 9-0 run early. Isaiah Moss eventually ended this run with the home sides first three-pointer of the afternoon.

By quarter time, the Bullets trailed Cairns 12-32, with Brisbane having had nine turnovers by this stage.

The second quarter was a much improved showing from the Bullets though, with Anthony Drmic draining a three-pointer to kick off the period.

That was the first of six threes from the Bullets in that quarter, including shots made from Drmic and Franks in three consecutive possessions.

Brisbane outscored their Queensland rivals 33-22 in this second quarter, playing with the momentum heading into the second-half.

The third quarter was a lot closer, with Cairns outscoring Brisbane by just four points. But it was during this period when history was made by one of Brisbane’s leading players.

While the three-pointer from Franks was important at that stage in the game, the pass was what stole the show.

Cadee currently leads all active NBL players in career assists, and was averaging 4.9 per game, going into Sunday afternoon’s fixture.

The third quarter is when Robert Franks shot the lights out, helping the hosts cut the lead down to as little as six at one stage.

Going into the final quarter, there seemed to be genuine belief among the Bullets supporters that the team had it in them to complete what would’ve been an incredible comeback win.

While the Bullets cut down the lead early in the quarter, Cairns did enough to hang onto a win.

Deng Deng was impressive in the fourth quarter, standing up when some other more senior players were fouled out. He converted an and-one during this quarter, as well as all three shots from the charity stripe after being fouled beyond the arc.

Coach James Duncan was visibly disappointed with the result and performance following the game, saying that the Bullets “did not respond to the challenge.”

But looking ahead to their next match, JD has a clear message for his side.

“Actions are the truth,” Duncan said. “Our actions this evening are just not acceptable in my opinion, and we need to be better collectively as a group.”

Star player Lamar Patterson agreed with what his coach was saying, but from a player’s perspective, he was especially frustrated with a common problem which has at times plagued Brisbane’s season.

“We got to a point where we just knew that we had to give our all. It’s probably the story of our season so far, having a quarter that probably loses us the game,” Patterson said.

“The guys out there just kept fighting but slow starts or the bad quarters are the ones that are killing us right now.”

The Bullets will aim to bounce back on Thursday when they play away to the New Zealand Breakers. The team will be back at Nissan Arena a couple of days later against Tasmania.

Box Score

BRISBANE BULLETS 88 (Franks 22-points, Drmic 14, Deng 13)

CAIRNS TAIPANS (98 Mccall 21, Kuol 17, Machado 14)

Next home game

After a quick road trip to face New Zealand, the Bullets are back at home next Saturday where they’ll face the Tasmania JackJumpers.

While slightly later than Sunday’s game, it’s set to tip-off at the family friendly time of 4:30pm AEST. Get your tickets HERE.