Despite losing star Chris Goulding to an ankle injury, Melbourne United have hung on to win their Round 3 NBL match at Hisense Arena over the Brisbane Bullets by eight points.
Unfortunately the injury to the guard could become the big talking point out of the match, which he suffered battling youngster Matt Kenyon early in the final quarter.
There is no question it looked ugly at the time, and if the worst comes to worst Goulding could well miss a couple of weeks recovering which would be a crushing blow for the NBL’s glamor club.
In the absence of Goulding though, who had lit up the game during the second quarter it was it was up to Australian Boomer David Andersen and import Ramone Moore to steady the ship, something they did fantastically.
Moore was a danger all game long, especially with his back to the basket in the post while Andersen didn’t put up huge numbers, but made shots when it counted and generally was a thorn in the side of Brisbane on the defensive end. The pair would top score for Melbourne, hitting 15 points each.
Cedric Jackson was the other United player who must get a mention with his decision making on court near flawless and along with the bench standing up they came back from a tough first quarter.
The Bullets had come out of the gates firing as they have done for most of their games this season and were looking like the better team, particularly on the defensive end.
Torrey Craig was once again all over the glass and that was a trend that contnued with Cameron Bairstow and Daniel Kickert doing plenty, but they just couldn’t find a way to stay in the lead.
Considering they had made 11 turnovers by the halftime break, and Chris Goulding was shooting the lights out it was hardly a surprise to see them go into the main break trailing by 15 points.
The Bullets began to fight back during the third and continued during the final, but just couldn’t get consistent enough from the field despite the best efforts of Kickert who ended with 23 points.
With their guard rotation of Jermaine Beal, Adam Gibson and Torrey Craig struggling to get involved on offence, and not much more coming off the bench there is plenty to work on for the Bullets.
United will now get ready to face defending premiers the Perth Wildcats on Sunday, while the Bullets head back home to host the beaten New Zealand Breakers on Saturday evening.
In Melbourne though it was United holding on by eight points to win their third match on the trot.
Final Score
Melbourne United 78
Brisbane Bullets 70
In what shapes as the match of the round, Melbourne United host a Brisbane Bullets side coming off a crushing loss in overtime. Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from 7:30pm (AEDT).
United got their season off to a shocking start.
Supposedly the favourites, they travelled to New Zealand and lost their first match, before going down at home to the Adelaide 36ers.
Round 2 saw an emphatic bounce back for the Melbourne club though, recording comprehensive wins against the 36ers on the road, and then the Illawarra Hawks at home.
The problems still remain for United though, with their offence relying on bursts of three-point shooting to spark into gear, and defence looking soft once the likes of David Andersen and Majok Majok go off the floor.
Still, if a different player steps up shooting every game, like Todd Blanchfield did on Sunday as he dissected the Hawks, then it’s hard to see them losing many games.
The Bullets have been the good news story of the season so far. Taking on defending champions the Perth Wildcats in the season opener, they got away with a come-from-behind victory, before hitting the road and dismantling the Sydney Kings.
Round 2 only saw them play a single game as they went down in overtime by just three points to Adelaide, in a match that they always looked the better side. Still, with the league being so close, every home game is huge, and they will be looking to pick one back up on the road.
Their play style has been just as expected with Andrej Lemanis at the helm, and their defence rock solid at times. If they can get their rotations right, then United will struggle to score.
The key battle should be that of the power forward Boomers – David Andersen for United and Cameron Bairstow for the Bullets. It’s tough to split them, but Bairstow was strong in his first match back from injury and should continue improving.
High-scoring guards Chris Goulding and Jermaine Beal will also have plenty of influence, and it could well turn into a fast-moving shootout.
Prediction
With home court advantage and on the back of a pair of wins, I’ll take United with no confidence. Could be another overtime match on the way.
United by 3.
Be sure to join The Roar for live coverage of this Round 3 fixture from 7:30pm (AEDT) and don’t forget to get involved by dropping a comment below.
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Scott Pryde
Expert
Thanks for joining me this evening on The Roar for our live coverage of the 2016-17 NBL season as the Brisbane Bullets went down on the road by eight points to Melbourne United. Hopefully you enjoyed the coverage. It's a double header tomorrow in the NBL, with the Adelaide 36ers taking on the Cairns Taipans at 7:30pm (AEDT), and the Perth Wildcats taking on the Illawarra Hawks at 9:30pm. I'll be live here on The Roar for both of those matches so be sure to join me then. Bye for now.
Scott Pryde
Expert
Match Results Despite losing star Chris Goulding to an ankle injury, Melbourne United have hung on to win their Round 3 NBL match at Hisense Arena over the Brisbane Bullets by eight points. Unfortunately the injury to the guard could become the big talking point out of the match, which he suffered battling youngster Matt Kenyon early in the final quarter. There is no question it looked ugly at the time, and if the worst comes to worst Goulding could well miss a couple of weeks recovering which would be a crushing blow for the NBL's glamor club. In the absence of Goulding though, who had lit up the game during the second quarter it was it was up to Australian Boomer David Andersen and import Ramone Moore to steady the ship, something they did fantastically. Moore was a danger all game long, especially with his back to the basket in the post while Andersen didn't put up huge numbers, but made shots when it counted and generally was a thorn in the side of Brisbane on the defensive end. The pair would top score for Melbourne, hitting 15 points each. Cedric Jackson was the other United player who must get a mention with his decision making on court near flawless and along with the bench standing up they came back from a tough first quarter. The Bullets had come out of the gates firing as they have done for most of their games this season and were looking like the better team, particularly on the defensive end. Torrey Craig was once again all over the glass and that was a trend that contnued with Cameron Bairstow and Daniel Kickert doing plenty, but they just couldn't find a way to stay in the lead. Considering they had made 11 turnovers by the halftime break, and Chris Goulding was shooting the lights out it was hardly a surprise to see them go into the main break trailing by 15 points. The Bullets began to fight back during the third and continued during the final, but just couldn't get consistent enough from the field despite the best efforts of Kickert who ended with 23 points. With their guard rotation of Jermaine Beal, Adam Gibson and Torrey Craig struggling to get involved on offence, and not much more coming off the bench there is plenty to work on for the Bullets. United will now get ready to face defending premiers the Perth Wildcats on Sunday, while the Bullets head back home to host the beaten New Zealand Breakers on Saturday evening. In Melbourne though it was United holding on by eight points to win their third match on the trot. Final Score Melbourne United 78 Brisbane Bullets 70
Scott Pryde
Expert
MATCH STATISTICS Field Goals: United (30/59 @ 50%), Bullets (24/60 @ 40%) Three pointers: United (5/16 @ 31%), Bullets (2/11 @ 18%) Free throws: United (13/22 @ 59%), Bullets (20/24 @ 83%) Rebounds: United (30), Bullets (40) Assists: United (6), Bullets (13) Steals: United (10), Bullets (3) Blocks: United (4), Bullets (0) Turnovers: United (9), Bullets (16) Points in paint: United (36), Bullets (34) Second chance points: United (8), Bullets (12) Points off turnovers: United (16), Bullets (12) Bench points: United (25), Bullets (24) STATS LEADERS Melbourne United Points: Ramone Moore, David Andersen (15), Cedric Jackson (14) Rebounds: Majok Majok (6), Ramone Moore (5), Todd Blanchfield (4) Assists: Cedric Jackson, Ramone Moore (2) Brisbane Bullets Points: Daniel Kickert (23), Cameron Bairstow (15), Jermaine Beal (8) Rebounds: Torrey Craig (12), Cameron Bairstow (9), Daniel Kickert (4) Assists: Daniel Kickert (4), Tom Jervis (3), Adam Gibson (2) Final Score Melbourne United 78 Brisbane Bullets 70
Scott Pryde
Expert
Quarter-by-Quarter Scoring Breakdown 1st Quarter United 12 - Bullets 16 2nd Quarter United 29 - Bullets 10 3rd Quarter United 16 - Bullets 20 4th Quarter United 21 - Bullets 24 FULLTIME Melbourne United 78 Brisbane Bullets 70
Scott Pryde
Expert
Thoughts on the game Roarers? Stats and report to follow.
Scott Pryde
Expert
Our man of the match is David Andersen.
Scott Pryde
Expert
FULLTIME Time ticking away here as Kickert goes in and looks to find a ball to Bairstow but it is stipped over the baseline. From the inbound it goes to Kickert and he misses. Offensive board for Bairstow and he misses, but that'll do us. Andersen fittingly ends up with another rebound and United have three in a row! Brilliant win for United at home, but at what cost? Chris Goulding's ankle might be in a bad way. Melbourne United - 78 Brisbane Bullets - 70
Scott Pryde
Expert
Q4 0' Moore makes both and that'll probably do it. United - 78 Bullets - 70
Scott Pryde
Expert
Q4 0' Quick foul from the inbound now on Moore. United - 76 Bullets - 70
Scott Pryde
Expert
Q4 0' The Bullets stay alive! Great ball into Bairstow and he lays it in with 21 seconds on the clock. Time out United now. United - 76 Bullets - 70
Scott Pryde
Expert
Q4 0' Cedric Jackson makes a pair of clutch three throws right there. Eight point game, 27 on the clock and the Bullets take a time out. United - 76 Bullets - 68
Scott Pryde
Expert
Q4 0' Speed down the floor for the Bullets and a transition lay up for Kickert. Cedric Jackson now is fouled in quick time. 27 on the clock. United - 74 Bullets - 68
Scott Pryde
Expert
Q4 0' Jackson misses both. United - 74 Bullets - 66
Scott Pryde
Expert
Q4 0' This one is just about done and dusted. Bruce commits the foul on Cedric Jackson with 35 seconds on the clock. United - 74 Bullets - 66
Scott Pryde
Expert
Q4 0' United down the floor and Moore finds a bit of space baseline to use the glass and lay it in. Kickert at the other end and the Bullets need to make something happen but it's a miss. Scrap for the board and United come up with the ball. United - 74 Bullets - 66
Scott Pryde
Expert
Q4 1' Bairstow makes both. United - 72 Bullets - 66
Scott Pryde
Expert
Q4 1' Great defensive pressure from United but Bairstow eventually finds Andersen on the run into the paint and draws a foul on the spin move. United - 72 Bullets - 64
Scott Pryde
Expert
Q4 1' Andersen! This man is on fire! He gets into the paint and pulls a spin move on Kickert to lay it in. United - 72 Bullets - 64
Scott Pryde
Expert
Q4 2' Beal makes all three from the strike. United - 70 Bullets - 64
Scott Pryde
Expert
Q4 2' Oh that's an ugly foul. Jermaine Beal gets ito the air and draws the defender to jump and then knock him over. United - 70 Bullets - 61