Sobey, Patterson Keep Bullets Unbeaten at Blitz

Nathan Sobey and Lamar Patterson delivered the finishing touches on keeping the Brisbane Bullets undefeated at the NBL Blitz leading them to a 94-86 come from behind win over the Cairns Taipans.

It was a fascinating game most of the way between the Queensland rivals to begin Wednesday's double-header at Ulverstone Sports and Leisure Centre in Tasmania.

The Taipans made a break early in the second half to open up a nine-point advantage, but the Bullets took over from there and down the stretch Patterson and Sobey just wouldn’t be denied.

They delivered the biggest plays of the game when they mattered most to lead the Bullets to the eight-point victory to back up wins at the Blitz already against the Perth Wildcats and Tasmania JackJumpers.

Both teams enjoyed a good shooting night with the Bullets going 36/66 at 54 per cent from the field and 9/23 at 39 per cent from deep. The Taipans also went at 32/66 at 48 per cent from the floor and 10/24 at 41 per cent.

Surprisingly both teams had off free-throw shooting nights, though, with Brisbane finishing with 13/24 at 54 per cent and Cairns 12/20 at 60 per cent.

The Taipans did win the rebound count again 37 to 33 but they also had 20 turnovers to 15 with the Bullets able to convert those into 27 points from turning the ball over from the men in orange.

Lamar Patterson is looking lean, mean and hungry to have a massive #NBL22 season with Brisbane. 

The former two-time All-First NBL Team member finished with another 18 points, seven rebounds and five rebounds, but it's his ability to run the floor, be moving quickly and to appear light on his feet, and passing and play running ability that really stood out.

Nathan Sobey top-scored for Brisbane with 27 points, eight assists and four steals on the back of shooting a stunning 6/8 from three-point land including the dagger three late and then pulling off a steal, and finding Robert Franks for the game sealing dunk.

Speaking of Franks, he finished with 15 points and eight rebounds for Brisbane with Tyrell Harrison continuing his good Blitz form with 10 points, five rebounds and four blocked shots.

Tanner Krebs added eight points and Tom Digbeu six while Chinese star Chuanxing Liu had his moments including a handful of emphatic blocks proving what a defensive impact he'll be able to have.

Tahjere McCall might have had plenty left in the tank having played less than 25 minutes, but the new Cairns import looks ready to have a significant impact in #NBL22. He finished with 17 points, three assists, two rebounds and a steal on 6/9 shooting.

Stephen Zimmerman has been rock solid in all four pre-season games at the Blitz so far and the left-handed centre produced another 13 points and seven rebounds with Kouat Noi playing the most minutes on the team despite coming off the bench and delivering 12 points and five assists.

Scott Machado is gearing up for a third season in Cairns with 11 points and five assists with Majok Deng contributing 11 points and four rebounds, Bul Kuol nine points on 3/3 from downtown, and Keanu Pinder eight points and 10 rebounds.

The Taipans will be next in action on Friday against the hometown Tasmania JackJumpers while Brisbane plays the Adelaide 36ers on Sunday.

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL BLITZ

BRISBANE BULLETS 94 (Sobey 27, Patterson 18, Franks 15) 

CAIRNS TAIPANS 86 (McCall 17, Zimmerman 13, Noi 12)

BOX SCORE