The Showtime South East Melbourne Phoenix are fast becoming the hottest ticket in town.
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Even tennis superstar Nick Kyrgios chose a night at the basketball over the Australian Open to see the offensive powerhouse Phoenix, averaging 112.8 points per game over their previous five games, win a thrill-a-minute battle 123-116 win over the gutsy New Zealand Breakers at the State Basketball Centre on Wednesday night.
The Phoenix went from zero to 100 in the blink of an eye, producing a season-equalling competition best first quarter of 38 points to lead by 10 at quarter time.
Such is the ruthlessness of the Josh King-coached outfit, the Phoenix kept their foot on the accelerator for a totally dominant first half that saw their lead blow out to 25 at one point.
Breakers forward Sam Mennenga produced one of the dunks of the season late in the second quarter, putting opposition centre Jordan Hunter on a poster as he threw the ball down with emphasis, but the Phoenix produced an incredible 74 first half points to lead by a whopping 20 at half time.
The dead-eye Phoenix shot 27/40 (67%) from the field and 12/20 (60%) from the three-point line to set up their victory in the first half.
The never-say-die Breakers, hunting sixth spot after back-to-back road wins, fought the game right out, trimming the deficit to five with three minutes remaining.
Speedy point guard Parker Jackson-Cartwright was all heart with 26 points, nine assists and six rebounds, while Mennenga’s brute strength inside the paint was a constant threat with 28 points and five rebounds.
It was a nerve racking finish for the Phoenix, who had to battle without the fouled out Hunter (17 points) and John Brown III (10 points, nine rebounds, four steals).
They held on for dear life with star shooting guard Nathan Sobey, who endured a rough start to the game in his return from illness, coming up big down the stretch to finish with 17 points and seven assists.
It was a night when Phoenix imports Ian Clark and Wes Iwundu proved their worth with offensive outbursts.
Trick or triple
The Phoenix came out breathing fire, connecting on their first four three-point attempts, two each to Hunter and Iwundu.
Former Orlando Magic import Iwundu took Breakers Next Star Karim Lopez to school with four consecutive three-pointers.
While it was a three-point party early for Phoenix, Mennenga kept the Breakers in touch, scoring nine of the Breakers first 13 points.
Veteran Reuben Te Rangi, injected into the starting five after the season ending injury to Rob Baker, was impactful for the Breakers early.
The fast starting Phoenix were red hot offensively in the first shooting 15/21 (71%) from the field and 7/11 (63%) from three.
NBL Wrap: Sobey withdraws from hoopsfest | 02:41
Commanding Clark
There was no stopping the Phoenix with 36 points in the second.
Veteran guard Ian Clark’s impact with the second unit gave the Phoenix a second wind.
The NBA and NBL champion proved a calm head when it all got a bit frantic at times for Phoenix with 15 first half points.
Backing up from his crucial 27 points in the win over Adelaide at HoopsFest, Clark scored a team-high 26 points on 7/11 shooting, including 5/8 from three and 7/7 from the free throw line.
Clark was all smiles on the bench, sensing he has landed in the perfect spot for him to chase another championship.
Iwundu had 16 of his 26 points in the first half.
His four first quarter threes undoubtedly set up the win for Phoenix.
The victory further solidifies Phoenix’s spot on the top two, where they continue to nip at the heels of the ladder-leading 36ers.
UNITED CRUISE AS INJURY-RIDDLED BULLETS HIT ROCK BOTTOM
Melbourne United has recorded its equal-second biggest win of the season in a 32-point mauling of the injury-riddled Brisbane Bullets in Bendigo on Wednesday night.
After gaining a 10-point lead at quarter time, United continued on their dominant trajectory, pushing to a 21-point advantage at half time, before claiming the comfortable 98-66 victory. The Bullets failed to lead at all in the one-sided contest.
United guard Tyson Walker led the onslaught with a team-high 17 points, including 13 in the first half, as United rose to their 17th win of the season and jumped to second spot on the Ignite Cup ladder.
Since going on a three-game losing streak, United has now won two in a row to get its season back on track it strengthens its spot position in fourth behind the Sydney Kings.
United import Milton Doyle was also influential with 14 points, four rebounds and four assists as Dean Vickerman’s side shot 51 per cent from the field compared to Bullets’ 37 per cent.
It was a difficult evening for the Bullets who suffered their seventh-straight loss.
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Holt steps up
Bullets forward Jacob Holt had a top first half with three triples from his first three attempts to cause United one of their few concerns for the game.
Tasked with a big role defending the in-form Jesse Edwards (nine points and six boards), Holt finished with a game-high 23 points, four threes and eight rebounds.
Another injury
The Bullets already have stars in Javon Freeman-Liberty and Tyrell Harrison to name a few on their long injury list.
And they just added another to the list with Bullets guard Alex Ducas going down with a suspected lower-leg injury.
He suffered the blow in the opening quarter and tried to play through it in the second but didn’t return after half time.
Rock-bottom Bullets
The injury-riddled Bullets continue their tough season and risk finishing on the bottom of the table for the first time since season 2017-18.
Wednesday’s loss puts them further behind second-last Cairns Taipans who have a 7-18 record compared to Bullets’ 6-21.
Walker again
A game after nailing one from half court at the HoopsFest, Tyson Walker repeated the heroics again in similar fashion.
Walker used the glass for a second time to land the long-range attempt, only difference this time, was it occurred on the half time buzzer rather than quarter time.
The 25-year-old’s highlight moment from half way gave United a steady 21-point advantage at the main break.
United guard Malith Machar made a big dunk at the start of the fourth term to give the 3978 fans in attendance another moment to cheer about.
Goulding primer
United star Chris Goulding got his trademark shot going from outside the arc in what was the perfect preparation for the veteran guard ahead of his 500th NBL game this Sunday.
The 37-year-old got back-to-back threes in the opening quarter to push his side out to a nine-point lead seven minutes into the game.
Coming off nine points in a win over Tasmania, Goulding’s 13 points and three assists from 21 minutes in his 499th game was a strong return to form.
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