A VINTAGE performance from Nathan Sobey has seen the Brisbane Bullets claim their second win in a row, this time coming against the Illawarra Hawks to the tune of 25 points at Nissan Arena on Thursday night.

Sobey could not be stopped as he led the Bullets on the offensive end with a game-high total, delivering his best performance of the season after a knee injury sustained last year interrupted his preparations for the 2022/23 campaign.

In the past few weeks, he has been slowly progressing to better form, and it all culminated in a damaging scoring performance in the first half, as Brisbane claimed two in a row against Illawarra.

It was an emphatic victory from the Bullets, who handed the Hawks their fifth consecutive loss as the team from the ‘Gong will now be desperate to get back on the winners’ list. On the other hand, Brisbane appear to be chugging along nicely, and look set for a resurgence in the remainder of the fixture after kicking off the season 0-5.

Brisbane Bullets (86) def. Illawarra Hawks (61)

Nathan Sobey – 22 points (5/8 3PT), two rebounds, five assists, two steals

Remarkably, all 22 of Sobey’s points came in the first half, as the combo guard lit it up from behind the arc as the Bullets piled on 52 points to 30 in the first half to take a commanding lead into the main change of play.

Sobey hit his first four triples of the match, which was his best ever quarter in a decorated NBL career. He showed a trademark ability to create space off the dribble, with his first two three-pointers unassisted.

Sobey’s shooting stroke looked back to its best, as the defence tried to cover him, but were caught up with the likes of Tyler Johnson and Aron Baynes around the court. The Bullets were completely on top of the Hawks, and much of that was due to Sobey making his way to nine points in just over three minutes.

He was also able to carry his momentum onto the defensive end, intercepting a poor pass from Tyler Harvey and storming down the other end to nail the pull-up jumpshot. A fourth three-pointer 30 seconds later put his total to 14 points in the first four and a half minutes of the match in a seriously explosive display of scoring. He acted as a facilitator of sorts for the remainder of the term, chiming in on two scores to close out the term.

Sobey kicked off the second term by driving inside on the fast break to nail a lay-up and keep Brisbane’s offence rolling. After nailing both free throws from a foul, it was clear Illawarra had to put much more effort into guarding him, so he received much tighter coverage for the remainder of the contest. After nailing one last triple from a Harry Froling kick out, Sobey was done scoring for the match, instead acting as a decoy and spending much more of the game on the bench with the result sealed.

Sobey has long been one of the most dynamic guards in the NBL, and reaffirmed his status in that category on Thursday night. Despite a star-studded Bullets roster, it appears he still has some left in the tank, and should feature heavily in Brisbane’s resurgance.