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Bullets show mettle in NBL come-back win

Dec 29th, 2019Dec 29th, 2019

Brisbane Bullets coach Andrej Lemanis believes the resilience shown by his squad after their heartbreaking loss to New Zealand will hold them in good stead in the run to the NBL semi-finals.

The Bullets dropped to eighth on the ladder after Breakers import Scott Hopson buried a triple as time expired in Friday's dramatic 99-96 result.

Facing a Melbourne United outfit stinging from their home defeat to the Cairns Taipans on Boxing Day, Brisbane quickly fell behind by double digits before rallying for a comeback victory just two days after a gutting loss.

"We can't talk about today's game without speaking about the loss the other night and how emotionally challenging that was for us to overcome," Lemanis said after Sunday's 102-96 win at Melbourne Arena.

"The group did a really nice job of being able to put that to bed and stay strong."

The Bullets added Melbourne alongside league leaders Sydney to their recent scalps with Hopson's clutch basket denying them what would now be a three-match winning streak.

"Over the last three to four weeks, and whilst it hasn't shown necessarily in results, I think we've actually played some really nice basketball," Lemanis said.

"We're in a good spot and that's because our defence is starting to bite on it."

United made a hot start to the contest before Brisbane restricted them to 41 per cent shooting for the game while their offence fired as they connected on 16 three-pointers.

"My sense of the group is that everybody's engaged and into the process and committed to understanding it's a 40-minute game," Lemanis said about his team's approach after falling behind early.

"Anybody who has watched this league since the start of the year, the number of 16, 18, 20-point leads that then come back and the other team wins ... and it comes down to the last shot.

"The games are alive no matter what and I think we're doing a nice job in believing that."

Lamar Patterson torched United with seven triples in his 35-point display but experienced guard Jason Cadee's second-quarter cameo proved the catalyst for the win, his 11-point burst helping the Bullets charge to the lead.

Lemanis revealed that Cadee was forced to delay his arrival in Melbourne due to illness but fought through to score 21 points, including six long-range bombs.

"He flew late yesterday because he had a stomach bug and was throwing up and all sorts of things," Lemanis said about Cadee.

"Friday night, he looked like death warmed up and for him to come out and play that way today speaks to his courage and toughness as well."