Phoenix outlast Bullets for crucial win

The South East Melbourne Phoenix delivered a blistering final stanza to win 105-86 despite losing Derrick Walton Jr while the loss of Josh Bannan broke the spirit of the Brisbane Bullets after a hotly contested three quarters.

It was always a pivotal match up at Gippsland Regional Indoor Sports Stadium with the Phoenix coming into it just inside the six at 11-10 and the Bullets just outside at 10-11.

Matt Hurt and Bannan were providing strong presences inside for their respective teams while Nathan Sobey got rolling against his old team and Casey Prather kept his hot form going.

Then there were the injury concerns with Phoenix point guard Walton Jr suffering a hamstring injury while the Bullets came into the game minus Tyrell Harrison, then lost Emmett Naar and Deng Adel, and eventually Bannan.

It was yet another dramatic NBL game in Gippsland with Brisbane leading 54-47 at half-time with Bannan producing 21 points and Hurt going for 17.

Prather stretched Brisbane's lead to 11 to start the second half before a 10-0 Phoenix run and it had all the feelings of a playoff-like contest.

South East Melbourne just wore Brisbane down eventually and four quick three-pointers to open the final quarter blew the game open with the Phoenix piling on 36 points to 18 in the last 10 minutes.

It was the first win for the Phoenix in three attempts in NBL25 against the Bullets and nobody enjoyed it more than Sobey who finished with 31 points, seven assists and five rebounds with 4/8 three-point shooting.

Hurt also finished with 32 points and 12 rebounds with Joe Wieskamp adding 16 points.

The Bullets are now 10-12 and Bannan had 23 points and nine rebounds before hurting his knee.

Prather finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds, Keandre Cook 11 points and four boards, and captain Mitch Norton 10 points and three rebounds.

Bullets coach Justin Schueller addressed his concerns over the court conditions post-match.

"We were frustrated with the safety of the venue before the game; we raised those issues and we've taken another four injuries through this contest," he said.

"That's a frustration right now we need to get some answers on. When you're told to 'just deal with it' when those things are raised.

"When we had our bodies we showed we were as good, if not better (than the Phoenix)."

South East Melbourne coach Josh King hopes Walton Jnr's injury isn't "as bad as we think it could be" and agreed the court was slippery.

"The floor ... I can honestly say I don't think the floor was 100 per cent good tonight," he said.

"We both had to play on ... a less-than-perfect floor but there's less-than-perfect conditions sometimes in basketball and sport.

"It's his hamstring; we won't know until they test it but any time you have soft tissue it's not good. He's been playing really well and really elevated the level of our team."

It was a fast start from the Bullets with Josh Bannan embracing his chance to play in the five spot in the absence of Tyrell Harrison with six early points. Triples also from Mitch Norton and Casey Prather had Brisbane leading 12-6.

It took South East Melbourne two and-a-half minutes to register a field goal and their first 11 points were all scored by Matt Hurt, but still it was the Bullets leading 21-17 by the end of one thanks to a three-pointer from Keandre Cook just before the buzzer.

Hurt continued to keep the Phoenix in the contest up one end on his way to 17 points for the half before sitting with two fouls while Bannan was proving unstoppable up the other for the Bullets with 21 points for the half with 10 free-throw attempts.

Prather worked into the contest too to go into the break with 13 points and the Bullets were up 54-47 when he hit a walk off triple and his team was shooting 52 per cent opposed to the 38 from South East Melbourne despite Nathan Sobey's 15 points against the team he was captain of in NBL24.

Prather scored on three straight possessions to start the second half to stretch Brisbane's lead to 11 but the Phoenix responded with the next 10 points to make it a one-point ball game with the locals getting behind them.

By three quarter-time it was South East Melbourne clinging to a one-point lead before the Phoenix produced a three-point onslaught with makes from Angus Glover (two), Sobey and Joe Wieskamp to open up a double-digit lead.

The Bullets also lost Bannan after he slipped on the floor in the humid venue and the Phoenix were feeling good and delivered 36 points to 18 in the fourth quarter to win by 19.

Both teams have quick turnarounds with the Phoenix straight up to Far North Queensland to play the Cairns Taipans on Tuesday while the Bullets are back home on Wednesday night to host the Perth Wildcats.

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL SEASON 2024/25

SOUTH EAST MELBOURNE PHOENIX 105 (Hurt 32, Sobey 31, Wieskamp 16)

BRISBANE BULLETS 86 (Bannan 23, Prather 21, Cook 11)

BOX SCORE