Jacob Holt and Terry Taylor staked their cases for a permanent roster spot in Brisbane’s inevitable 2026 rebuild during Sunday’s tight loss to Adelaide.
The 36ers won 97-86 at the BEC and the grit shown by the Bullets was in large thanks to this duo and streaky debutant Hunter Maldonado.
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The Bullets’ season is already in the rear-view mirror as far as playoffs, but Holt (15pts, 7rbs) and Taylor (18pts, 7rbs, 3asts, 2stls) showed they are eager to be involved in the biggest turnaround in the club’s history.
Brisbane led 45-38 at half time but, as was the case in Thursday’s 95-75 loss to Perth, they false started in the third quarter and lost it 30-20.
There was no coming back against the league leaders who, for the first time since the 05/06 season, have won 19 games and counting.
The 36ers, led by sniper Flynn Cameron (18pts), Isaac Humphries (16pts), Bryce Cotton (23pts) and Zylan Cheatham (17pts, 8rbs, 10asts), made tremendous second-half adjustments and won the fourth 29-21 to win it ugly, making it five straight and 12 over the last 13 games.
THE UNDERMANNED UNDERDOGS
Against the league’s best shooting team, Brisbane held themselves well and held Adelaide to just 38 first half points on 35 per cent shooting.
A large part of that was Mitch Norton and Sam McDaniel’s defence that held superstar Bryce Cotton to two points on 0-5 shooting. He later exploded for 13, third-quarter points while McDaniel missed the entire second half with a calf concern.
For just the fifth time in 24 games, Brisbane led, 31-29, at quarter time and made a 5-0 spurt to close the second which saw them take a surprising 45-38 lead.
An errant, full-court inbounds pass with 4.8s left fell to the pacy and to-the-point Maldonado, who showed great intent and IQ to find a buzzer-beating Alex Ducas on the wing for three.
Another stunning highlight was delivered in the third by fearless lefty Terry Taylor.
STAKING THEIR CLAIMS
Taylor showed he must be strongly considered for a permanent roster spot in 2026, if he wants it, after showing flashes of brilliance with his elite shot creation.
Taylor, who averaged 16.5 points across 45 games in the NBA’s G-League, scored the finest two of his 18 points with an emphatic one-hand jam to end the third.
Centre Tohi Smith-Milner, who was key in returning serve when the 36ers went on a 17-5 run starting the third, made the steal and pass that led to Taylor’s dunk.
The Kiwi colossus also made another gorgeous assist to Taylor for an acrobatic finish at the rim, a smart play to draw a foul as the shot clock wound down, and another superb bounce pass to Maldonado in a magic solo stretch to finish the quarter.
But the 36ers showed its class again in the fourth, smashing a 20-year club record for most wins and they still have 10 games to go.
WILDCATS CONTINUE ROAD RUN WITH KIWI WIN
Perth Wildcats improved their superb road record to 9-4 this season after a hard fought eight-point win over New Zealand Breakers on Sunday afternoon.
In their fourth game on the road in a stretch of five consecutive away games, the Wildcats came from two points down early in the fourth to win 99-91 at Spark Arena.
After some brilliance from Kristian Doolittle and Dylan Windler earlier, it was Jaron Rillie and Elijah Pepper who led the way in the final term to lead the Wildcats to their 13th win of the season.
Rillie, the son of coach John Rillie, registered two assists and five points in the final quarter including two clutch free throws to give his side a handy six-point advantage with 41 seconds left.
The 24-year-old guard finished with 13 points and four assists from 19 minutes while Pepper had eight points in the final term in a game where he had 13 points and three assists.
Breakers big man Sam Mennenga (19 points and three boards) had a strong outing as well as Carlin Davison (14 points from 21 minutes), but it wasn’t enough as the Breakers fell to a fourth loss in five games.
The Breakers began the game with a 12-6 lead but then the Wildcats shot out to a 11-point advantage early in the second before a tight battle ensued.
The Breakers, who came off a nine-day break, fall to an 8-14 record following the loss and drop a spot to eighth position on the ladder.
Making the game difficult for the home side was Kristian Doolittle who had 21 points including eight in the third quarter in a brilliant outing.
Sharpshooter Dylan Windler was also immense with four threes from his first four attempts from long range. He finished the game with 17 points and 10 rebounds. It was the first time Windler has made four triples in a game this campaign.
Wildcats centre Jo Lual-Acuil Jr (20 points and six rebounds) was also a major contributor in the win, highlighted by a breakthrough third quarter where he scored seven points.
The victory for the Wildcats solidifies their position in fifth and moves them closer to the top four ahead of a big clash next up against the second-placed South East Melbourne on January 10.
Earlier in the contest, Tai Webster notched up his 1000th NBL points in the opening term in a game where he finished with eight points and three rebounds for the Breakers.
NEXT STAR LIGHTS IT UP
Mexican Next Star Karim Lopez gave the Breakers fans their money’s worth with stellar back-to-back buckets.
The first was a three which circled around the rim three or four times in fine style and the second was a mouth-watering dunk.
The 18-year-old’s exploits came at a crucial stage as the Wildcats were beginning to take control with a 34-23 lead before Lopez’s scoring blitz.
Lopez finished the game with 11 points, seven board and three assists in another promising outing for the forward who is projected to go top 10 in the NBA draft.
Another highlight for the prospect came when he put up a huge block on Lual-Acuil Jr as he tried to dunk with less than two seconds to go in the third term.
New Zealand Breakers 91 (Mennenga 19, Davison 14, Brockington 12)
Perth Wildcats 99 (Doolittle 21, Lual-Acuil Jr 20, Windler 17)
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