Bullets fade again, Perth continue winning ways

Sunday, November 19, 2023

Brisbane were again unable to close out the contest as Perth finished stronger to claim a fifth-straight victory.

The Brisbane Bullets have let slip another late lead to drop a third straight game as the Perth Wildcats extended their unbeaten streak to five with the 79-76 win.

It's another frustrating defeat for the Bullets who were nine points up with five minutes to play and still leading by six with three minutes on the clock.

It was a similar situation to Sunday's game with the Sydney Kings where they were also in control before giving up the last 15 points. This occasion, the Wildcats would close the game scoring 20 of the last 28 points to from nine points down to winning by three.

Bullets coach Justin Schueller said Perth's 17 offensive rebounds and a staggering 37-7 free throw attempts in favour of the visitors were the root of their problems.

"There's way more before just the end of this game," he said.

"The margin is three, but there's so much we could have controlled ... that we didn't get done.

"We're as good as anyone ... we just have to learn what winning looks like for 40 minutes."

Perth's hustle plays were key to the eventual win as the 'Cats ended up winning the rebound count 49 to 38 including pulling down 17 offensive rebounds for 19 second chance.

That was exemplified when Bryce Cotton missed a late free-throw, but was able to grab the o-board and get back to the stripe, make two and ice the game while finishing with 25 points, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Bryce Cotton filled the box score in the <a href="https://twitter.com/Perthwildcat?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PerthWildcat</a>'s fifth consecutive win ?<br><br>?? 25 points<br>?? 7 rebounds<br>?? 3 assists<br>?? 1 steal & 1 block <br><br>Cotton now sits third in the league for points per game ? <a href="https://t.co/3vwe90XM9T">pic.twitter.com/3vwe90XM9T</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1725839138279264718?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 18, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Prior to that, Josh Bannan, who had earlier hit two triples of his own to put the Bullets within reach, responded with a dunk off a nice Aron Baynes pass.

But Kristian Doolittle (21 points, nine rebounds) had the answers with consecutive tough makes.

Chris Smith (23 points) put Brisbane back in front but teammate Tyrell Harrison's turnover opened the door, Keanu Pinder holding his nerve at the free-throw line after Mitch Norton fouled him.

Smith found his range on a night when shots weren't otherwise dropping, the Bullets import with 10-of-15 field goals to power the hosts with 15 of his 23 points coming in the second frame.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/_ChrisCrosss?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@_ChrisCrosss</a> took his man's ankles ?<br><br>Catch the action live on ESPN via Kayo ? <a href="https://t.co/GMmdYGZ1C2">pic.twitter.com/GMmdYGZ1C2</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1725813890674544967?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 18, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Both teams mustered just 13-of-50 at the three-point line, Nathan Sobey (0-of-7) watching many rim out before he had some joy closer to the hoop late in the game for the Bullets.

But Brisbane will enter a competition-wide bye week with plenty of frustrations after another missed opportunity, Justin Schueller's men now 5-7.

Along with Smith's 2 points, rookie power forward Josh Bannan had 17 points and six rebounds with Sobey adding 13 points.

The rejuvenated Perth, who outlasted Cairns on Thursday, are now 7-5 on the back of five straight wins and went 27-of-37 at the foul line against the Bullets.

Along with what Cotton and Doolittle did, Hyrum Harris again came up huge with 14 points and six rebounds with Keanu Pinder pulling down 10 rebounds.

"Never satisfied," Perth coach John Rillie said.

"We've lost five games and our goal is a championship and we're building.

"You can't disrespect how you get there; the minute you relax you get slapped in the face and you're back to where we were."

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL ROUND 8

BRISBANE BULLETS 76 (Smith 23, Bannan 17, Sobey 13)

PERTH WILDCATS 79 (Cotton 25, Doolittle 21, H Harris 14)

BOX SCORE