Recap | Bullets fire for captain, Tough4T

Mitch Norton stepped up admirably in his 400th NBL game to start as point guard, Max Mackinnon nearly had a triple double and the Brisbane Bullets put on an offensive show to beat the South East Melbourne Phoenix 115-105.

The Bullets were back at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre on Thursday night not only to celebrate their captain's 400-game milestone, but also to host the inaugural Pink Hoops game for breast cancer charity Tough4T in honour of Tiana Mangakahia.

By the end of the evening, it was an occasion to remember for the Bullets, as they controlled most of the way against the visiting Phoenix and completed the 10-point victory to improve to a 3-3 record on the season.

The only downside was fourth quarter ankle injuries to centre pairing Tyrell Harrison and Jacob Holt with Lithuanian point guard Arnas Velička and the versatile Sam McDaniel along with Taine Murray already sidelined.

Once again, the Bullets did a strong job on the offensive glass, where they already lead the league. They pulled down another 18 o-boards which converted into 16 second chance points.

They also forced the Phoenix into 12 turnovers and made the most of those with 21 points while leading for all but 1:35 of the game on the way to the eventual 10-point victory.

The Bullets' offence was then a smooth-moving machine even without Velička, with 31 assists on 44 made field goals and 17 free throws made.

Brisbane shot 56 per cent from the field along with going 10/29 from beyond the arc and 17/23 at the free-throw line.

Rookie sensation Max Mackinnon once again starred with 24 points, eight rebounds and eight assists with 4/8 three-point shooting.

Jaylin Williams stepped up with 19 points and six rebounds on 3/5 shooting from deep with Nate Hinton contributing 16 points, seven rebounds, five assists and four steals, Lat Mayen 14 points and four boards, and milestone man Norton 11 points and nine assists.

Even with their nights ending early with ankle injuries, Harrison (14 points, seven rebounds, four assists) and Holt (13 points, three boards) had a big impact too.

Brisbane did as they pleased at the offensive end to lead 30-24 at quarter-time, with 10 points and a couple of triples already from Max Mackinnon, while former Bullets captain Nathan Sobey had seven points for South East Melbourne.

The Bullets continued to be able to score far too easily thanks to breakdowns and misreads on defence from the Phoenix, but South East Melbourne's offensive firepower saw them get back into the contest by half-time.

Brisbane were just clinging to the 56-55 advantage by half-time but their offence was flowing nicely with 19/34 shooting from the field and 12/14 at the foul line with 13 points from Lat Mayen, 10 from Tyrell Harrison, 10 from Jaylin Williams and still 10 from Mackinnon.

Sobey was showing the way for the Phoenix still with 15 points while Angus Glover had chimed in with nine points and Akech Aliir seven.

The Bullets took back control in the third quarter going up 15 when Mackinnon scored five minutes into the half.

But the Phoenix hit back and got within six when former Bullet Tanner Krebs hit an open three in transition before Skylar Mays brought them back within three.

Brisbane were still leading 90-84 by three quarter-time, though, and they did continue to have the answers with big scores any time the Phoenix got back within striking distance.

The Bullets then had both big men Jacob Holt and Harrison leave with ankle injuries in the first five minutes of the fourth quarter but even with that, the home team didn’t give up their control and went on to score the 10-point win.

The Bullets now look ahead to two road games in Round 6 of NBL27 firstly against the Tasmania JackJumpers on Wednesday night and then against the Illawarra Hawks on Saturday.

GAME DETAILS

BRISBANE BULLETS 115
SOUTH EAST MELBOURNE PHOENIX 105

Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Thursday October 15

Max Mackinnon – 24 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists
Jaylin Williams – 19 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists
Nate Hinton – 16 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals
Tyrell Harrison – 14 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists
Lat Mayen – 14 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists