Mitsubishi Match Recap: NBL25 Round 18 v Brisbane Bullets

Melbourne United have blown out an undermanned Brisbane Bullets on the road on Sunday afternoon.

Playing the final game of their seven-game road trip, Matthew Dellavedova gave United the perfect start, knocking down his opening look of the game from deep.

Chris Goulding followed this up with a three of his own before Marcus Lee went upstairs for a huge slam.

The Bullets were able to hit back quickly, going on an 8-0 run to retake the lead.

Playing catchup for the remainder of the period, Melbourne jumped back in front briefly after a Jack White dunk, however a late score from the Bullets tied up the contest at 26-26 after one quarter.

Needing to create some separation, United’s defensive intensity lifted to another level in the second.

The visitors forced Brisbane into nine turnovers in the second, creating a heap of extra opportunities at the other end.

Two more Goulding triples, a number of strong finishes at the rim for Dellavedova, and more above-the-rim plays from White and Lee had Melbourne rolling, allowing them to open up a 21-point advantage heading into the major break.

Looking to build on their lead, United continued to roll to start the second half.

Rob Loe was impactful on both ends, swatting a shot on defence before finishing an and-one bucket.

White and Shea Ili each worked their way inside for layups, while Clark knocked down his first of trio of three-pointers in the third term.

This was however all preamble to the game’s greatest highlight, as Goulding cut baseline to throw down his first dunk of the season.

Ultimately, United rode this wave of momentum to build a 87-61 lead with one quarter remaining.

With a significant lead, Melbourne’s bench came into the game to remove all doubt for the result.

Two more jumpers from Ian Clark brought him up to a game-high 24 points, while Tanner Krebs got open for three long-range makes and Akech Aliir swatted a shot at the rim.

In the end, United ran away from the Bullets, finishing with a 115-88 victory.

After over a month on the road, Melbourne will be back in front of their home fans for a matchup with the Tasmania JackJumpers on Saturday 1 December from 8pm.

Limited tickets remain.