To The South: Best of NBL Round 19

A rivalry that formed between two teams who met regularly in Round 19 was the main story amongst plenty of highlight moments and high-scoring individual heroics. Here is the very best from the nineteenth round of the NBL regular season:

Brisbane Bullets vs Perth Wildcats

After a tight start to proceedings, the Wildcats put together a 6-1 run which put them up by double digits, then went on to score four three-pointers in a row. They finished the first quarter ahead by fourteen, the same gap that stood between the teams at half-time.

In the second half Brisbane's Lamar Patterson, Nathan Sobey and M Hodgson combined to cut down the gap, the Wildcats restored their double-digit advantage shortly after the start of the final quarter. Eleven points without reply put the Bullets within two points of Perth and in the last minute Patterson put Brisbane into the lead and the Wildcats' last-second attempts to save the game fell short.

Despite the loss, Clint Steindl was the stand-out for Perth with a game-high 25 points, while with 23 points Patterson led the scoring for Brisbane in their takedown of the NBL leaders 91 points to 88.

New Zealand Breakers vs Sydney Kings

This week the Breakers home games were held at Trusts Arena in Auckland, making these the first games of the 2020-21 NBL season to be played in New Zealand.

An early six-point lead by Sydney quickly turned into a seven-point one for New Zealand, but the Kings were able to tie the scores by the first quarter buzzer. The Breakers' three-point shooting when play resumed put them further and further into the lead, they went ahead by twenty-one late the third.

Meanwhile, after irregular chances from the Kings throughout the game's mid section, they threw everything at the Breakers in the final period to try and save the game. Sydney's lead scorers Casper Ware (20 points) and Jarrell Martin (18 points) led them in closing the gap to five, but the Breakers' defence outplayed the Kings' offence in the last few minutes to see out victory 89-81, in which Finn Delany registered a double-double of 23 points and 13 rebounds.

Sydney went looking for revenge two days later, but New Zealand get off to an early lead and equalised nine times in the first half. As the game continued the Breakers kept the Kings on the back foot and eight points in the last two minutes of the quarter saw them lead by six at half-time.

The Kings' Jordan Hunter closed the gap when play resumed, in response Corey Webster restoring the Breakers' lead and with Levi Randolph adding to it. At the start of the fourth they led by six but following a 11-3 run Sydney went in front and ahead of the final minute were up by four points. Webster was able to keep it tight in the last minute, but he or no one else could do enough to get the win from the Kings.

Lamar Patterson led the Breakers with 25 in their loss while Jarrell Martin had a game-high 29 points for Sydney as they even their week against the New Zealand team with victory 81 points to 76.

Illawarra Hawks vs Cairns Taipans

Capitalising in the low post, led by Venky Jois, the Taipans went into the lead midway through the first quarter and put themselves up nine shortly after the start of the second. Then - in the face of 12 points in a row from Justinian Jessup - held their cool to finish the first half ahead by five points.

The Hawks responded from beyond the arc, they took an NBL record forty-five three points attempts, twelve of which dropped for them. This quickly saw their deficit turn into a double digit lead and Cairns, unrecognisable from the assured team in the first half, could not find an answer from their tenacious opposition.

The Taipans were led by Majok Deng (16 points) and Scott Machado (17 points, 9 assists) in the loss, while with 24 points from Justinian Jessup, 22 by Tyler Harvey and a double-double from Andrew Ogilvy - 11 points, 12 rebounds, Illawarra keep their playoff hopes alive, winning 91-84 over the Taipans.

Illawarra remains in fourth place in the ladder, below both Melbourne teams with the Wildcats sat in between. Their playoff spot is not yet secure, with two rounds to go there is still threat from the Sydney Kings who could leapfrog and usurp their place in the postseason. For more, head over to the official website of the NBL Australia.

Picture Credit: Mark Metcalfe