Full strength JackJumpers building momentum

Write off the defending champions, Tasmania, at your peril.

The JackJumpers have now strung consecutive wins together coming into the FIBA Break, with Milton Doyle firing, and Sean Macdonald and Will Magnay back with a vengeance.

The defending NBL champions might still sit with just a 5-8 record, but that's considerably better than how things were looking after they scored just 60 points in a 28-point loss to the Sydney Kings.

On the back of that, there was a lot to like with what they did, despite a six-point loss in Perth last Thursday night, before dominating a New Zealand Breakers team who at the time were sitting top of the table.

Returning pair Macdonald and Magnay starred in 95-92 win over Brisbane, while Doyle scored 32 points and a career-best eight three-pointers.

It says a lot for the JackJumpers finally having a full strength lineup at their disposal.

"I don’t think anything's really changed, we've just stuck with the process of what we do every day and it's paying off," Doyle said.

"Basketball is a game of ups and downs, but as long as you stick to your process the results will show and that's what we've been doing.

"The biggest thing for us now is being healthy and the wins is a bonus going into this break. Everybody is energetic and happy, and when guys are happy, that's when basketball becomes easier for everyone. That momentum will definitely help us."

Macdonald made his first appearance of the season, after injuring his ankle during the Intercontinental Cup in Singapore on the eve of NBL25.

"Seany is in tremendous, tremendous shape and it doesn’t take him much to get back," coach Scott Roth said.

"He was working as hard as anyone over this time and was chomping at the bit to get back on the floor, so it's a great credit to him.

"He hadn’t played basketball in almost three months and this team has not been together since Singapore, and even there it only lasted about seven minutes. It's a great credit to him."

Magnay, who had missed the previous three matches with a shoulder injury, showed no signs of discomfort.

It was a physically powerful performance that included a huge dunk over Bullets Next Star Rocco Zikarsky, diving on the floor and being defensively intimidating on his way to 14 points, 7 rebounds and 3 steals.

"It's a great credit to Will too because it was kind of a game-time decision, because we were still a little leery coming into this game with the two weeks coming off," Roth said.

"But he said if he was going, then he was going all in and didn’t want to worry about his minutes or anything. He just has a warrior mentality and I'm glad we got through that unscathed and it's good to have the group back together."