REIGNING NBL champions Tasmania JackJumpers notched up their eighth straight win yesterday afternoon, overcoming Brisbane Bullets by nine points (95-86) at MyState Bank Arena. The JackJumpers came into the clash having regained a top four spot off the back of seven straight wins, while the Bullets had briefly jumped into the Play-In spots before dropping back out with a loss on Friday.
Despite the tight turnaround for the visitors, the Bullets still put up a fight, but ultimately the JackJumpers proved that bit too good, and continued to show why they can still get the job done without star Will Magnay.
| Tasmania JackJumpers | 22 | 30 | 18 | 25 | 95 |
| Brisbane Bullets | 21 | 23 | 14 | 28 | 86 |
The home side controlled the play and shook off the determined Bullets in the second term, scoring 30 points to 23 in order to take an eight-point advantage into the main break. A tight third quarter ensued but the reigning champions were able to restrict the Bullets’ offence. Despite Brisbane able to reduce the damage in the last, they could never get it closer than six points in that time.
Milton Doyle loves playing against the Bullets and after his 32-point effort against Brisbane last time out, he put up another 23 points, also collecting five rebounds and three assists in the win. The bench support from the JackJumpers was paramount to their success with both Anthony Drmic (19 points, five rebounds) and Majok Deng (16 points, four rebounds) providing support close to the rim.
After impressing the last couple of matches, guard Jordan Crawford played 22 minutes off the bench to finish with a game-high eight assists without a turnover, as well as 13 points, two rebounds and two steals. Sean Macdonald (10 points, five rebounds and three assists) was the other Tasmanian in double-digits.
For the Bullets, the trio of Casey Prather, Tyrell Harrison and Josh Bannan provided key impacts off the boards. Prather (18 points, seven rebounds), Harrison (15 points, 12 rebounds) and Bannan (17 points, six rebounds) did what they could to help the cause. Keandre Cook (20 points was the Bullets’ top scorer, but with 70 of their 86 points coming from four players, the depth on the scoring front was not quite there.
Tasmania JackJumpers coach Scott Roth was pleased with yet another victory considering the close proximity of matches and limited rest between games.
“My group’s had three games in about seven days starting with United and then the Christmas game so I’m really happy to get through this stretch,” he said.
“We still have areas that are concerning but overall I just think we have different guys stepping up and we’re system oriented, and it’s not always pretty but I’m obviously quite happy to get across the line.”
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