Creek roars as Phoenix dominate Bullets in NBL Cup

Boomer Mitch Creek roared at his South East Melbourne teammates to come with him and the Phoenix responded emphatically to erase a 16-point deficit and claim a memorable 99-83 NBL Cup win over the Brisbane Bullets.

With his side rattled in the first quarter and staring down the barrel of a serious flogging, the one-time NBA player laid down the law to his teammates including some choice words of inspiration, demanding they lift. 

Lift they did, not only gunning down the deficit but blowing the Bullets off the court in a true Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde performance.

While Creek (29 points, nine rebounds) was the talisman, former Bullet Cam Gliddon had a day out from the three-point line on his way to 19 points off 5/8 shooting from long range in his first appearance against his old side.

Creek said there was plenty of emotion in the early huddles when the chips were down and said he was trying to ignite his teammates into action.

"I don't know if I am allowed to say what I said," he admitted.

"It's not always about yelling, it's about trying to bring a bit of emotion out of yourself ... to really have that heart and passion enough to spark that little fire in someone else so they can light it themselves. Without that spark, sometimes they don't have it."

Creek reserved special praise for Sykes who is evolving from a "humble homebody" to an "absolute killer".

"(It can be a challenge) trying to find the best way to tell him to go and be an absolute killer and also run the team, it is hard in this league especially with so many other talents," he said.

"It's not an issue, it is a blessing in disguise. For him to be excellent on every single possession like we saw tonight, 11 dimes in this league is really hard to come by and he was the smallest on the court with the most boards."

Kyle Adnam had a sensational cameo with 15 points and six assists while Keifer Sykes (14 points, 10 rebounds, 11 assists) became the first NBL player to score a triple-double since LaMelo Ball to continue the stunning start to his NBL career.

Compounding the pain for the Bullets was an ankle injury to guard Jason Cadee who was running riot until he hobbled from the court late in the first quarter. It could snap a run of 193 consecutive games that has spanned seven years. 

Nathan Sobey was strong for the Bullets again with 16 points, six rebounds and four assists while Matt Hodgson looked free of any calf pain that has restricted him so far this season on his way to 20 points and nine rebounds. 

A freshly shaven Anthony Drmic (16 points, four rebounds) had his best game in Bullets colours as well. Alarmingly for the Bullets, though, imports Vic Law (nine points, four rebounds, three assists) and Orlando Johnson (four points, five rebounds) lacked impact again.

Bullets coach Andrej Lemanis said the loss of Cadee hurt more than most realise because of how he is their on-floor general when it comes to defence.

"It's a combination of things. Jason going out was a big thing for us in terms of the rhythm of our rotations, how he plays, his ability to organise the team and manipulate defensive schemes - what he can do defensively is so smart," Lemanis said.

"Then there were some small things along the way ... sometimes when you get a lead, it leads to some short cuts going on. I thought they certainly got into us defensively and got quite physical ... at the end of the day you've got to make your shots."

The early prognosis on Cadee is not looking like good news for Bullets fans either.

"Jase said it was a bad one and they ruled him out pretty quickly which I suggest is not a good sign," Lemanis said.

"From my experience you've got to wait 24 hours for everything to play out... we will make some decisions from there."

It started off as a seesawing affair but Brisbane quickly gained the ascendency as the Phoenix couldn't splash a basketball in the ocean. 

As South East Melbourne's clip plummeted to 18 per cent the Bullets were shooting at a crisp 63 per cent and pushed out to a 23-7 lead. The Bullets were sailing but their fast start was soured by the injury to Cadee although the visitors did take a 27-16 lead into quarter-time. 

Hodgson showed Bullets fans what they had been missing during his injury stint with three statement dunks including a trademark reverse effort that will make highlight reels for weeks to come. 

The hot and cold Phoenix were finding their fire and closed the gap to two points. When Creek stroked home free throws with 90 seconds left in the term, the scores were level. 

Law had only taken one field goal for zero points in the first half which was a concern for Brisbane and South East Melbourne turned that headache into a migraine as they tipped over their 16-point deficit to take a seven-point lead in the third quarter.

Hodgson continued his rampage to keep the Bullets in the hunt though. Brisbane clawed their way back and Law managed to score the go-ahead basket late in the term but a flurry of three-pointers from Gliddon frustrated Brisbane and it was the Phoenix that took a slender 68-66 lead into the final break.

The alarm bells were ringing for the Bullets when Sykes continued the three-point rampage as South East Melbourne pushed their advantage back out to 10 early in the final term. 

The Phoenix had well and truly risen from the ashes of the first quarter and a technical foul on Bullet Tanner Krebs was the final nail in their coffin for the match.

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL ROUND 6
NBL CUP WEEK 1

SOUTH EAST MELBOURNE PHOENIX 99 (Creek 29, Gliddon 19, Adnam 15)

BRISBANE BULLETS 83 (Hodgson 20, Drmic 16, Sobey 16) 

POINTS AWARDED – South East Melbourne Phoenix 6, Brisbane Bullets 1

BOX SCORE