"Steamrolled" United vow to bounce back

Dean Vickerman says Melbourne was “steamrolled” by the New Zealand Breakers on Monday, admitting it was one of the toughest losses he’s been a part of during his 247-game coaching tenure at United.

Vickerman bemoaned his team’s inability to ever “get back in the fight”, with a 34-point loss United’s worst ever at John Cain Arena. 

“We actually were healthy going into the game, but (we were) steamrolled from the start and never recovered,” he said on Wednesday.

“We were just never in the fight at all … it was a tough one to take as a competitor.”

Vickerman promised a brutal review following the defeat, but is confident his team will bounce back against Brisbane on Thursday night. 

“It needed to be. None of us were happy with our performance,” Matthew Dellavedova added.

“It was tough to watch, but we needed to look at it and see a lot of areas we needed to improve in.”

New Zealand shot at an incredible 66 per cent from the field and dominated the rebound count, with Parker Jackson-Cartwright, Sam Mennenga and Karim Lopez running riot.

“There was a lot of things that weren’t up to the level that are usually areas we’re good in,” Dellavedova said. 

“We’re all happy we have a game tomorrow night and we can rectify that and get back to who we are.”

United’s focus quickly turns to bouncing back against the Bullets at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre.

The home team is coming off three wins from its last four games, with Tyrell Harrison in hot form. 

“If we do have a performance that’s below par, our bounce-back has been outstanding,” Vickerman said.