To The South: High-Scoring Start To Round Five

A packed fifth round of NBL 21 began with a nail biter, which was followed by three games with teams playing dominant basketball full of powerful performances.

Illawarra Hawks vs Melbourne United

Back on their home court, and with their original name, the Illawarra Hawks levelled the scores after falling behind by six points early on, only for Melbourne United to respond with a 7-0 run which saw them end a high-scoring first quarter up by five. Illawarra tried to keep it close but Mitch McCarronn’s three point shooting created a wide gap between the teams, which remained so until the end of the half, when five points in a row from Jessup brought the Hawks to within two points of their opponents.

Two three-pointers from Tyler Harvey in the third quarter gave Illawarra their biggest lead of the game at seven points. Yudai Baba restored Melbourne’s lead by the period’s end and a swift start to the following quarter saw them go back up by six. Harvey fought back for the Hawks, twice making it a single-possession game down the stretch but his final attempt to save the game for his team fell short.

Jack White’s final shot of the game saw Melbourne United prevail with the win by just 91 points to 88 - a win which sees them remain unbeaten so far this season. Harvey finished with 22 points and 10 points for Illawarra, behind their top scorer Justinian Jessup who had 24 in the loss, while Scottie Hopson was the top scorer for Melbourne with 21 points.

South East Melbourne Phoenix vs Perth Wildcats

The Phoenix had the early lead but Perth began to pull away from them, beginning a run of ten unanswered points at the end of the opening period. Five three pointers in the last three minutes of the half then saw the Wildcats’ lead extend to twenty. Even with SEM’s top scorers Kyle Adnam (24 points), Ben Moore (18 points) and Mitch Creek (16 points, 11 rebounds) finding plenty of scoring opportunities, Perth proved too hard to stop on offence.

The Wildcats were on fire from three-point territory with twelve on the night, one from Mooney putting their lead at thirty points late in the fourth quarter. Led by a sensational show from Todd Blanchfield, who had a team-best 22 points in just 26 minutes on the court, Perth completed a well-earned blowout win with a final score of 106-75.

Sydney Kings vs New Zealand Breakers

There was no getting away from the Breakers for the Kings: though the home team held a narrow lead for much of the first half, the visitors’ ability to match them near shot-for-shot saw the two tied at the end of the first quarter and again at the first half’s conclusion. They were deadlocked still until late in the third, when a 6-1 run from Sydney put them ahead by five points.

The Breakers went ahead by the same margin but Sydney finished the game with fourteen unanswered points to secure the win. A last-second three from Patterson brought the final scores to 84-74, with a game-high 25 points from Corey Webster for the losing Breakers side while Casper Ware had 22 in the Kings’ victory.

Adelaide 36ers vs Brisbane Bullets

Brisbane had the early advantage thanks to the three-point shooting of Nathan Sobey and Jason Cadee, and after they went up by six in the second quarter, Adelaide began their fight back. Six points in sudden succession from Daniel Johnson put the 36ers in front and they re-enforced their lead picking up plenty of points in the paint.

The Bullets got back to within one point of Adelaide following a run of nine points to two, Isaac Humphries responded by putting the 36ers ahead by double digits, a lead which grew to twenty points late in the fourth quarter. Victor Law and Tanner Krebs found some late scoring opportunities for Brisbane but it was too little too late for the home team.

Sobey led all with 25 points in Brisbane's loss, while Johnson had 21 for Adelaide and his team mate Humphries was the stand-out, contributing 24 points and 13 points in the 36ers' 85-70 win.