WITH the current round of the National Basketball League (NBL) stacked with action, fans were treated to a rare Wednesday afternoon clash. The match saw Melbourne United travel north to take on the Brisbane Bullets at Nissan Arena to close out Round 8. United entered this clash as favourites, but the Bullets delivered a terrific team performance and looked on track to cause a slight upset when they led heading into the final term. However, the reigning champions were able to produce a strong comeback in the fourth quarter, and gave themselves the lead with just minutes remaining. The home team had their chances to steal the win in the closing seconds of the match, but their two tying field goal attempts were wide, and United emerged victorious.

In this article, we take a look at some of the key stats that shaped the result of the match, and why each team performed as they did.

Team Stats:

31/79 (39%)	FG	30/69 (43%)
28/54 (51%)	2P	21/37 (56%)
3/25 (12%)	3P	9/32 (28%)
17/22 (77%)	FT	15/21 (71%)
47	REB	40
12	AST	19
6	STL	9
1	BLK	6
15	TO	16

As expected, United were able to win a number of the vital statistical categories on their way to an impressive away victory. They shot slightly better than their opponents, and although they made one less shot from the field, it was from 10 less attempts. They also made six more shots from behind the three-point line than the Bullets, giving themselves a serious boost on the scoreboard. This was helped by the shooting of star guard Matthew Dellavedova, who made four of his six attempts from behind the arc, as he continues to display his offensive output.

United also won many of the key defensive categories, including steals and blocks. With the Bullets threatening to blow the game wide open in many stages of the match, last year’s champions were able to stop the bleeding by putting together some impressive plays on the defensive end. None were more important than a late game defensive stop by Jack White, who may have saved the match for his team.

The Bullets were able to find some success in the rebounding category, with the side pulling down seven more boards than their opponents. This did result in more field goal attempts, but too many were wayward. Had they made the most of their opportunities on the offensive end, the rebounding victory would have been incredibly important in the context of the game.

Top Points Scorers:

Lamar Patterson (21)	Matthew Dellavedova (16)
Nathan Sobey (18)	Jack White (14)
Chuanxing Liu/Robert Franks (10)	Chris Goulding (12)

Dellavedova led the way for the victors, with 16 points in a strong offensive outing. Most of these came when his side needed some offence to stay in the match, so he was vital in keeping his side in the contest and setting them up for the comeback. White was also impressive with 14 points on some efficient shooting from the field. Goulding struggled with his efficiency on the other hand, but fought his way to 12 crucial points. Patterson and Sobey were marvellous for the Bullets and were a massive reason as to why they nearly won the match.