LOOKING to carry on from their breakout victory over the JackJumpers, the Brisbane Bullets resumed their charge towards the play-in tournament, defeating the Illawarra Hawks by seven points at Nissan Arena.

The win came on the back of standout performances from Nathan Sobey, Chris Smith and Tyrell Harrison, with Isaac White giving some spark off the bench, helping the side to a 110-103 victory.

In a high scoring first quarter, with the Bullets taking a four-point lead, both teams looked after the ball relatively well, with the Bullets turning over the once in the half compared to the Hawks’ six.

The Hawks ended the first half strongly, and won the second quarter 30-29, though the Bullets maintained a three-point lead at the main break.

Both teams shot the ball relatively well from the field, 18/35 at 51 per cent, compared to the Hawks, 20/34 at 59 per cent.

The Bullets had a breakout third quarter, winning the term 31-24 and making the most of their opportunities at the free throw line, shooting 28/35 at 80 per cent.

The Hawks won the last quarter, 23-20, finishing the game shooting at 37/67 at 54 per cent. The Bullets played tough defence, not allowing the Hawks to drive easily to the basket and two point range. As a result, Illawarra shot nine from 28 at 32 per cent. The Hawks had contributions from Tyler Harvey, Sam Froling, Justin Robinson and Gary Clark, but it was the turnovers (14-7) which proved difference.

The Bullets finished the game shooting at 33/62 at 53 per cent. Both teams were relatively even from the defensive rebounds category, 25-24 in favour of the Bullets.

Sobey was the top scorer for the Bullets, finishing with 25 points, five rebounds, two steals and one assist. Chris Smith had 19 points, one rebound, one assist, one steal, while White and Mitch Norton both played their role off the bench, finishing with 12 and 18 points respectively.

For the Hawks, Harvey finished as the top scorer, with 29 points, three rebounds and two assists. Froling and Robinson both finished with 15 points, whilst Clark finished with 13 points, eight rebounds and three assists.

The Bullets have a double header in round 16, facing the Perth Wildcats on January 19 in Perth, then travelling to Cairns to face the Taipans on January 21.

Meanwhile, the Hawks face the Taipans at home January 18 and the Adelaide 36ers at home, January 20.