To The South: Heated Match-Ups Come Down to Fantastic Finishes

The first four games to begin the latest round of the NBL regular season saw some of the very best basketball of the season, which included one of the biggest highlight moments.

South East Melbourne vs Melbourne United

An early eight-point Phoenix lead went down to just one shortly after the start of the second quarter, but after Kyle Adnam and Reuben Te Rangi had their way SEM’s advantage then stood at double-digits. Mitch Creek and Brian Moore took over the scoring for the Phoenix in Q3, keeping their team in front even in the face of Jock Landale and Yudai Baba tightening the gap throughout the period.

Five points in a row from Shea Ili, followed by a turnaround jumper from David Barlow, tied the game midway through the fourth quarter, then four in a row from Chris Goulding then put United ahead by five. A jump shot from Creek and three pointer from Adnam tied the scores and sent the game to overtime.

United then started to feel the pressure, repeatedly missing shot attempts and giving up possession easily, leaving SEM open for a run of nine unanswered points. Goulding made it a one-point game with thirty seconds left but coming up short from the three-point line, United were finally out of inspiration and the Phoenix were left to claim the W.

Landale and Goulding both had 22 points in the loss for Melbourne United, while South East Melbourne once again saw a leading performance from Mitch Creek, who had 31 points and 10 total rebounds in his team’s 97-92 win over their hometown rivals.

New Zealand Breakers vs Cairns Taipans

A first quarter run of thirteen unanswered points gave the Breakers an early lead of 13-5 and after ten minutes the Taipans trailed by double digits. Cameron Oliver found some open looks for Cairns while New Zealand were buoyed by Tai Webster and Colton Iverson’s low post success, as well as Thomas Abercrombie from all distances. He gave the team their biggest lead of nineteen points midway through the third period.

Mojave King started driving down Cairns’ heavy deficit and after a 10-1 run the Taipans had turned it into a single-possession game early in the final period. The remainder of the game was nervy with neither team wanting to give up the ball too easily. Scott Machado tied the scores in the final minute, Bach responded with a three for the Breakers, Mirko Djeric responding in kind for the Taipans seconds later.

With the win on the line, Thomas Abercrombie picked up the loose ball off a missed shot by Webster and, from long range, fired the game-winning shot for the Breakers. This three made him the game’s high scorer with 20 points, with Iverson finishing with 15 along with 11 total rebounds in one of the most dramatic wins of the season.

Brisbane Bullets vs Adelaide 36ers

Brisbane held a narrow early lead before Adelaide quickly went seven points in front late in the first quarter, to which the Bullets opened the second quarter with a 9-0 run to level the scores. The 36ers responded in kind with ten points unanswered, giving them a lead that Nathan Sobey and Vic Law led an assault on from the field.

Brisbane brought Adelaide’s lead down to a single possession in the third then, after nine points without reply, the Bullets were leading by six. The lead changed hands nine times in the final period and in the final stretch, Sobey and Law made the plays which decided the final outcome.

Sobey was the game’s top scorer with 30 points while Law had 22 for the Bullets in their 109-104 win, while Daniel Johnson had 29 points for the 36ers, who also saw 19 points and 11 assist from Josh Giddey in the loss.

Sydney Kings vs Illawarra Hawks

Sam Froling and Justinian Jessup combined to give the Hawks an early ten-point lead, almost immediately after which a flurry of threes from the Kings closed the gap to a single point. Casper Ware then put Sydney into the lead but a late layup from Cameron Bairstow saw the scores tied at the end of the first period.

Both teams worked hard to prevent a break away from the other and, after a long cold streak in the third, a 19-3 run from the Hawks restored their double-digit lead. Justin Simon then made that lead stand at twenty-five points shortly after the start of the fourth quarter. With missed shots piling up in the game’s remainder, turning it around ended up becoming an impossible task for Sydney.

A final dunk from Akoldah Gak made the final scores 89-69 in Illawarra’s favour, with Froling the top scorer, finishing with 20 points to his name.