Bullets send off Lemanis a big winner

The Brisbane Bullets finished off their season on the best possible note to farewell coach Andrej Lemanis with a 94-84 win that consigns the South East Melbourne Phoenix to fourth position.

The Tuesday night showdown at Nissan Arena was the final game of the #NBL21 regular season and barring a miracle 78-point win by Brisbane, South East Melbourne was locked into a maiden playoff berth.

All that was to be determined was if they finished in third or fourth spot, and the Bullets ensured that was fourth as they dominated much of the second half on their home floor to claim the 10-point victory.

The result means that South East Melbourne ends the season with a 19-17 record to be in fourth position meaning they will take on Melbourne United in a Throwdown semi-final match up that will all be played outside of Victoria.

The Bullets might have lost their hopes of reaching the playoffs with a thrilling loss to Sydney on Saturday, but they wanted to farewell three-time championship winning coach Andrej Lemanis in the best possible way, and they certainly did so with a spirited performance on their home floor.

The Bullets raked in 19 offensive boards for 25 second chance points on top of getting to the foul line 32 times with Lamar Patterson leading the way with 19 points.

Nathan Sobey did his MVP credentials no harm with 16 points and 11 rebounds with Anthony Drmic and BJ Johnson adding 16 points apiece, and Jason Cadee 12 points and three assists.

Lemanis was philosophical in reflecting on his Bullets and NBL journey afterwards.

"It's interesting just with the finality of it there's a tinge of sadness that comes with that and that's not only with the Bullets, but the NBL," Lemanis said.

"It has been such a big part of my life and shaped who I am as a person for so long that to come to the realisation that it's over is an interesting feeling. 

"But then when I look at what lies ahead for myself and my family, and the opportunities of experiencing something different and a different culture, this is why this has come to an end. 

"Then you start to get excited about that because for me it's always about a continual growth journey for everybody, and that's what this is all about."

It wasn’t the lead into the finals the Phoenix hoped but they did get through unscathed and nobody played more than Mitch Creek's 31 minutes, with him putting up 17 points and four assists.

Ryan Broekhoff hit 14 points, Keifer Sykes 13 (five boards), Kyle Adnam 11 (six assists) and Reuben Te Rangi 10 (five rebounds).

Phoenix coach Simon Mitchell quickly turned his focus on preparing for Game 1 of their semi-final series with Melbourne in Sydney on Friday.

"We wanted to make sure that the minutes were shared tonight," Mitchell said.

"We played to win, don't get me wrong, and credit to Brisbane on their performance, but we also had to make sure that we got everybody a few minutes and shared the court time around because if we won the game we'd be heading to Perth with next to no preparation and tired bodies. 

"The priority for us tonight was to get through unscathed and to make sure everybody got a few touches, got a little rhythm and we can move from there."

Brisbane's miracle of winning by 78 might have never been going to happen, but they sure started on fire with a quick three to Lamar Patterson leading into an 8-2 start.

Ben Moore came on and his efforts on the glass helped South East Melbourne back into the game before Mitch Creek and Kyle Adnam knocked down threes, but the Bullets went on another 11-5 run to be up 25-21 by quarter-time.

Despite an early three in the second term, the Phoenix picked up the momentum with 10 straight points, and then soon after when Keifer Sykes nailed a three and Reuben Te Rangi finished off a spectacular pass from Creek through the legs of Patterson, the visitors were up 38-32.

They had the momentum but Brisbane turned it back around through Nathan Sobey. He had been scoreless but quickly put up 10 quick points capped off with a four-point play, and by half-time the Bullets led 49-48.

A three-point play from Anthony Drmic helped Brisbane's lead grow to six early in the third quarter, and they maintained that edge to still b up 69-65 by three quarter-time.

Drmic then sparked the Bullets to start the fourth quarter with four quick points and then when he knocked down a big three on the back of yet another offensive board for Brisbane, they led by a game-high nine points.

It grew to double-figures soon after and from there it became a free-throw fest down the stretch and the Bullets went on to win by 10 to farewell Andrej Lemanis on the best possible note and to consign the Phoenix to fourth spot and to a Throwdown semi-final series.

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL ROUND 21

BRISBANE BULLETS 94 (Patterson 19, Johnson 16, Sobey 16, Drmic 16)

SOUTH EAST MELBOURNE PHOENIX 84 (Creek 17, Broekhoff 14, Sykes 13) 

BOX SCORE