WWAG Match Recap: NBL23 Round 15 v Brisbane Bullets

Written by Melbourne United Media 

Melbourne United have come away with their fourth consecutive win, toughing out a hard-fought victory in Brisbane against the Bullets.

It was an interesting but successful first possession of the game in Brisbane, as Dean Vickerman successfully challenged a foul-call against Chris Goulding to win Melbourne the ball.

Following this, it was a clinical opening 10 minutes, as United quickly jumped out to an 18-6 lead.

A big part of this run was Rayjon Tucker, who tallied nine points in less than four minutes of action, finishing with 13 points in the first term.

Melbourne just looked to be working harder than the Bullets, who struggled to put together a consistent showing, leading to a 34-20 advantage to the visitors after one period.

If United’s first quarter was clinical, their start to the second term was anything but, as they coughed the ball up on back to back possessions, allowing Brisbane to gain some momentum.

The Bullets pulled within 10 points of United, however that only seemed to wake up Vickerman’s squad, who out-hustled Brisbane to close the quarter.

Melbourne went on a 9-2 run across the final four minutes of the period, which ended with a big block from Marcus Lee before Xavier Rathan-Mayes put in a buzzer-beating midrange jumper to give United a 17-point lead heading into the major break.

The third quarter was a rollercoaster for the visitors, as after scoring the opening five points, Brisbane went on an enormous run.

After having not hit a three-pointer for the entire first half, the Bullets cashed in on six looks from deep, fueling a 26-11 run.

With United holding onto a slim two-point lead, Chris Goulding stepped up, scoring eight quick points, to help MU push its lead back out to 11 points with one term remaining.

Despite Melbourne’s best efforts, the Bullets simply wouldn’t go away.

Aron Baynes had a huge final quarter, crashing the boards and finishing around the rim to end the game with 21 points and 11 rebounds.

With Brisbane firing on all cylinders, United’s stars stepped up.

Chris Goulding, Rayjon Tucker, Xavier Rathan-Mayes and Shea Ili all came up with massive plays down the stretch of the game, holding the Bullets at bay.

United ultimately came away with a 10-point victory, their eighth in a row against Brisbane.

The win lifts Melbourne to 13-12 heading into their next game on the road against the Adelaide 36ers.

Fans can tune in on ESPN via Kayo and Foxtel from 8pm AEST.