"Desperation" defines United front

For the second time in two seasons, the NBL Championship Series is heading to a fifth and final game, and Dean Vickerman has praised the mentality of his team in its nail-biting, season-saving victory in Tasmania against the JackJumpers.

A Matthew Dellavedova layup and an Ian Clark free throw were enough to secure victory in the dying stages of a swinging contest between the two sides. Jack McVeigh once again had the chance to be the hero from half-court, but he couldn’t repeat his Game 3 miracle.

United will now head back to John Cain Arena for the decisive Game 5, and Vickerman says this game was win at all costs.

“I’m exhausted right now. It’s been an incredible Championship Series so far and I guess where I sit to say it deserves to go five, we’re incredibly privileged to go back to Melbourne and have one more shot at this thing,” Vickerman said post-game.

“Game-wise I thought there were some amazing desperation plays that were made tonight. Our ability to dive on the floor on loose balls and come up with extra possessions was amazing.”

Ian Clark starred in the victory for Melbourne, and added the experience of some of Melbourne’s locker room veterans helped turn the tide in the game.

“It’s been an up and down series for both teams and I just loved our resilience today, even when they made runs and hit big shots we didn’t panic, and that’s a credit to the guys in the locker room who have been in big moments,” Clark said.

“To understand the moments we had in that last quarter, and just to be able to be fighters, be resilient, and come out with the win. I’m excited to go back in front of our home fans on Sunday and take care of business.

“It’s a privilege to be in this position, to be able to play for a championship in front of our home crowd. I’m sure emotions will be high – even after this win – but we never can get too high or too low.”

Jo Lual-Acuil Jr had come under fire for a pair of below par performances in the second and third games of the series, but the star center proved a crucial difference-maker for Melbourne down the stretch, despite being anchored to four fouls for the entire final quarter.

Lual-Acuil Jr popped up with a potentially game-saving steal off of a Tasmania inbound pass with mere seconds remaining, in what was a near perfect parallel to the final stages of Game 3.

Vickerman and Clark both lavished praise on the South Sudanese superstar.

“Jo loves the big moments, I think we all know that and he’s such a competitor, so being able to have him in in that moment, he was big. That steal was massive for us and him being able to save it and keep in inbounds so we could keep the possession was great for us,” Clark said.

“We put him back into the game for the offensive possession and to have a good screener in the game, but for him to come up with a massive deflection and a save was a huge play from him,” Vickerman added.

“With Jo picking up that fourth foul, we saw that last time we were down here and I thought he had a much different mentality tonight. It was more like ‘if I foul out, I foul out but I’m playing aggressive with this last foul’.”

Vickerman also downplayed any potential injury to captain Chris Goulding, who was seen limping throughout the latter stages of the game.

“Everyone’s got a little something right now, so it’s nothing to be worried about.”

The fifth and final game of the NBL24 Championship Series will tip off at 4pm AEDT on Sunday evening, live on ESPN via Kayo.