In the final game of the the three-match NBLxNBA series the Brisbane Bullets face the Phoenix Suns live from Talking Stick Arena. Join The Roar for a live blog of the match starting from 1pm AEDT.
The NBLxNBA series of games has been a big success for the NBL with the first two games being entertaining affairs throughout. In the first game Utah defeated Sydney by 25 points (108-83) and then the Melbourne United team gave the Oklahoma City Thunder all it could handle before narrowly losing by 1 (86-85).
The Bullets won’t want to let the NBL down in the final game and will try to push the Suns hard throughout the game. Phoenix are not one of the powerhouse teams in the NBA failing to reach the finals in the past seven years. With a load of young talent on the Suns team however they will be entertaining to watch.
The Bullets will be lead by their imports as well as Aussie star Adam Gibson, the team may be outmatched in class but their never give up attitude will help them out. For Phoenix who should have star guard Devin Booker back from injury as well as Eric Bledsoe controlling the tempo will be an impressive sight to watch.
With only pride on the line for both teams the overall game may not be of a high standard but neither team will want to finish off their preseason a with a loss. Brisbane will want to add a boost to their side by trying to take down an NBA team, the Suns however won’t want to be the only NBA team to lose to one of the NBL sides and will try what they can to keep them at bay.
Prediction
The Phoenix Suns should be able to comfortably beat the Brisbane Bullets however after the Oklahoma City versus Melbourne game earlier in the week it is no certainty.
If Brisbane are able to make their 3-point shots and play in a physical manner against the younger Suns then they may be able to shock everyone with a win.
Phoenix start their season next week and will want to take all the momentum they can from this game into their regular season debut.
Phoenix Suns by 10.
Sam Walker
Roar Guru
Suns stroke burns the Bullets in Arizona. Phoenix win by 21 points 114-93. An impressive first quarter from the Phoenix Suns set up a big win for them in their final preseason game against a courageous Brisbane side. The Suns jumped out to a 15-2 run early in the first quarter and if it wasn't for that run then this game could have been more interesting. The Suns put on a shooting clinic in that first quarter and held the Bullets to just 12 points. The Bullets had a lot of good early looks in that first quarter but they were unable to convert the shots. The second quarter saw a much improved performance from the Bullets who started to find their shooting stroke, tying the scoring total of the Suns in that quarter with 33 2nd quarter points. Alex Len was impressive in the first half for the Suns while Travis Trice was impressive himself for the Bullets. Both teams came out in the second half struggling to find their scoring mojo, as the Bullets took 3 minutes before scoring their first points while it took the Suns 5 minutes before they got the first basket of the second half. The Bullets forced a number of turnovers from the Suns in the quarter and really clamped up their pressure catching the Suns off guard. The Bullets got the game back to 17 points midway through but the Suns made a late run in the term to keep the lead at 23 points at the end of the third. With the game out of reach at the start of the 4th quarter the Suns tried to get their bench some solid minutes with Josh Jackson barely playing at all in the quarter. The Bullets tried to get the score back to a respectable deficit but the Suns through Devin Booker continued to score at will. A very impressive performance from the Bullets after that first quarter, if Brisbane had of performed better then the game would have been quite close. The Suns played harder than i was expecting as they were still trying to work out who the regular season starting 5 could be. Brisbane can leave with their heads held high though and the NBL can be happy despite results not going their way in any of the games. The NBL really needs to build on this series and perhaps bring in some other sides next season. Leading stats. Points Devin Booker 31 Travis Trice 20 Alex Len 20 Rebounds Daniel Kickert 10 Tyson Chandler 9 Dragan Bender 9 Assists Devin Booker 6 Travis Trice 5 Eric Bledsoe 4 Team stats FG% Bullets 38% (38/98) Suns 46% (40/87) 3pt % Bullets 36% (8/22) Suns 40% (12/30) Rebounds Bullets 52 Suns 48 Assists Bullets 19 Suns 23 Blocks Bullets 3 Suns 10 Steals Bullets 5 Suns 6 Final score Phoenix Suns 114 Brisbane Bullets 93
Sam Walker
Roar Guru
Long range shot from Shaun Bruce is good. Bullets 93 Suns 114 End of the game.
Sam Walker
Roar Guru
Mike James shooting 2 free throws. Makes them both. Bullets 90 Suns 114. 30 seconds left
Sam Walker
Roar Guru
Petrie with a layup. Bullets 90 Suns 112. 38.3 remains.
Sam Walker
Roar Guru
Adam Gibson with another 3. Bullets 88 Suns 112. 1:58 remains.
Sam Walker
Roar Guru
Bender at the free line shooting 1 after the made shot. Misses. Adam Gibson with the long 3. Bullets 85 Suns 112. timeout. 2:13 left in the game
Sam Walker
Roar Guru
Tyler Ullis with the cross and then score. Tom Jervis at the line shooting 2. Misses the first, makes the second. Bullets 82 Suns 110. 3:19 4th q.
Sam Walker
Roar Guru
Alex Len with the pretty spin and then finishes it with a dunk. Bullets 81 Suns 108. Timeout 4th q.
Sam Walker
Roar Guru
Stephon Holt with a big 3. Dragan Bender responds with a 3 of his own almost instantly. Bullets 81 Suns 106 5:27 4th q.
Sam Walker
Roar Guru
Will Magnay misses two free throws. Bullets 78 Suns 103 7:24 4th q.
Sam Walker
Roar Guru
Nice 3 point shot from Daniel Kickert. Bullets 78 Suns 103. 7:35 4th q
Sam Walker
Roar Guru
Adam Gibson with the 3 point shot after getting his own rebound back. Tyler Ullis with the 2 for the Suns. Bullets 75 Suns 101. 8:39 4th q
Sam Walker
Roar Guru
Booker fouled and he is shooting 3 from the line. He makes all 3. Bullets 72 Suns 99. 9:41 4th
Sam Walker
Roar Guru
Trice with another 2 for the Bullets great game from the guard. Bullets 72 Suns 96. 10:05 4th q.
Sam Walker
Roar Guru
Booker with another 2 and is fouled. He hits the free throw. Bullets 70 Suns 96.
Sam Walker
Roar Guru
Booker starts the quarter with 2 points. Quick response from Perrin Buford. Bullets 70 Suns 93 4th q 11:40.
Sam Walker
Roar Guru
The Brisbane Bullets WIN!..... The third quarter. Very impressive 3rd quarter from the Bullets as they managed to cut the lead back to 18 points at one stage. The Suns had a sloppy quarter and took over 4 minutes to score from the half time break. Travis Trice and Tom Jervis have been outstanding for the Bullets so far.
Sam Walker
Roar Guru
Trice with a 2 and he moves to 15 points in the game.
Sam Walker
Roar Guru
Len gets fouled and is at the line shooting 2. makes them both. Bullets 66 Suns 89 37 secs left 3rd quarter.
Sam Walker
Roar Guru
Len cuts in and scores with a nice hammer. Bullets 66 Suns 87. .53 3rd q.