Preview: NBL25 R11 Away v Melbourne United

The Brisbane Bullets produced a strong all-round home performance to win big on Friday night and now will look to keep that momentum going on the road to Melbourne United on Sunday afternoon.

There was plenty to like from what the Bullets produced at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre on Friday night with the 102-83 victory against the Adelaide 36ers with the team from the 1985 championship on hand to watch.

While Casey Prather was brilliant with 33 points and Tyrell Harrison dominant with 19 points and 18 rebounds, there were plenty more contributors including Mitch Norton's 17 points and five assists, Tohi Smith-Milner's 11 points and two rebounds, and James Batemon's 10 points, two boards and two assists.

The win improved the Bullets to a 5-7 record on the season but now Sunday is another significant test against the league-leading United at John Cain Arena.

Melbourne comes into the game sitting on top of the standings with a 12-4 record having won five straight games including a 27-point win in Christchurch against the New Zealand Breakers on Thursday.

Bullets coach Justin Schueller liked a lot of what his team did in the win over Adelaide on Friday and is looking forward to seeing what they can now produce against Melbourne.

"The exciting thing for us is that we get a second game pretty quick here and against a good team who had a good road win the other night," Schueller said.

"For us we felt we were probably three quarters pretty good against them last time and now we have to keep trying to find that consistency. It's a great challenge for us and we can't wait for it."

The next step in the development of this Bullets team for Schueller is performing well against United and he sees no reason why they can't head to Melbourne and come away with what would be a statement victory.

Brisbane has struggled against Melbourne in recent times having lost 12 straight against them by an average of 13.4 points.

The last win the Bullets scored against United was during the NBL Cup back in March 2021, but Schueller takes heart from a lot of what his team did in their last meeting in Brisbane that they can build on this time around.

"They are the benchmark right now sitting on top so any time you get to go play a team of that calibre, you learn a lot about yourself," Schueller said.

"We'll find out if we're ready on Sunday but the thing that I've seen every day in practice now for a while is that growth of what it is going to take and what championship standards do look like.

"That's now where we get to try and continue to build and grow on this. Every game right now is kind of like a playoff game for us knowing that we have the advantage of games in hand.

"We don't want to let opportunity to slip or go away so I'm going to be looking more about how we respond off this win and if we can continue to grow more than what Melbourne are trying to do."

Prather comes into Sunday's game in his best patch of form as a Bullets player with the 31 points last Friday in Perth and then another 33 in Friday's win at home against Adelaide.

He is returning to a familiar court to as a championship winner with United and he is looking forward to seeing what the Bullets can produce.

"I'm just excited about another opportunity to play to be honest," Prather said.

"You can't take these games for granted especially at this high level so I think everybody on our team understands that we have to keep climbing and keep getting better.

"This is another opportunity for us to do that in Melbourne against a pretty good team. We just have to out there and do what we do."

GAME INFO

Who: Brisbane Bullets vs Melbourne United

Tip off: 1:30pm (AEST), Sunday 8 December, 2024

Where: John Cain Arena, Melbourne

Watch: 10, ESPN via Foxtel and Kayo