Recap | Brilliant Bullets beat Hawks

Nate Hinton starred, Tyrell Harrison returned aided by Archie Woodhill and Lat Mayen, Raul Neto impressed as a starter and the Brisbane Bullets were outstanding in Wollongong to beat the Illawarra Hawks 98-81.

The Bullets arrived at the WIN Entertainment Centre coming off a loss in Hobart to the Tasmania JackJumpers on Wednesday, but there was still a lot to be encouraged by against the league-leaders.

Harrison was then back to play against the Hawks and straight into the starting line-up as was three-time Olympian and 464-game NBA veteran point guard Neto.

And it didn’t take long for the Bullets to take control and they went into half-time leading 55-35.

The Hawks hit back to the delight of their home fans in the third quarter and got back as close as three, but again the Bullets steadied to take back control with 29 points to 19 in the fourth period to win by 17 and improve to a 4-4 record.

The Bullets outscored the Hawks 84 points to 54 outside of the third quarter to end up with 29 second chance points to 15, 76 points in the paint to 46 and having 18 offensive rebounds to 11.

Nate Hinton had a standout all-round game with 21 points, six assists, three rebounds and three steals.

Harrison was back and delivered 14 points and eight rebounds while Archie Woodhill chimed in with 10 points and five boards while hitting both three-point attempts.

Lat Mayen also had 10 points and six rebounds including a huge putback dunk late with Max Mackinnon having 14 points and seven boards, and then Neto enjoying his first start in a second appearance with 11 points, four rebounds and four assists.

Jaylin Williams also had seven points, five rebounds, three steals and two blocks, Mawot Mg six points and five boards, and Taine Murray four points and two rebounds.

The Bullets put the pressure back on the home team early with a strong start with 25 points to 16 in the opening quarter.

Archie Woodhill stepped up for five early points relieving Tyrell Harrison while Nate Hinton produced four points, five assists, three steals and two rebounds while the Bullets also forced the Hawks into six turnovers.

Brisbane took further control in the second quarter and piled on 30 points to 19 to go into half-time in control of the contest leading 55-35.

Hinton was up to 14 points, six assists, three rebounds and three steals with Harrison adding eight points and three boards.

As a team, the Bullets shot 12/22 for the quarter to 8/18 from the Hawks and by half-time, they had 43 points in the paint to 20 and 13 second chance points to seven.

The Hawks responded in the third quarter to breathe some life into the WIN Entertainment Centre.

It was Johny Narkle and Dan Grida who helped to spark a run for the Hawks and they put up 27 points on 9/18 shooting with Todd Blanchfield adding another six points to by up to 16 with 3/5 three-point shooting.

That had Illawarra cut the Brisbane lead to 69-62 by three quarter-time, but the Bullets did well to respond and regained control in the fourth quarter to end up outscoring the Hawks 29 points to 19 to win by 17.

The Bullets now return home to the Brisbane Entertainment Centre this Thursday night for the second Sunshine Stoush of NBL27 against the Cairns Taipans.

GAME DETAILS

BRISBANE BULLETS 98
ILLAWARRA HAWKS 81

WIN Entertainment Centre (Wollongong), Saturday October 24

Nate Hinton – 21 points, 6 assists, 3 rebounds, 3 steals
Tyrell Harrison – 14 points, 8 rebounds
Max Mackinnon – 14 points, 7 rebounds
Raul Neto – 11 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists
Archie Woodhill – 10 points, 5 rebounds, 2/2 3PT
Lat Mayen – 10 points, 6 rebounds