JackJumpers Overcome Bullets in OT

With both teams desperate to open their accounts for NBL23 and each having their time dominating for a half, it was only fitting it went to overtime where the Tasmania JackJumpers defeated the Brisbane Bullets 90-86 on Sunday.

With Brisbane's Tyler Johnson (24 points, 6/7 three-point shooting) and Tasmania's Milton Doyle (32 points, six rebounds, four assists) firing, it was a game full of drama but the JackJumpers pulled off the comeback victory.

It was another packed house at MyState Bank Arena to will their hometown JackJumpers to their first win of the season in what is already their fourth game inside eight days, but the Bullets were determined to open their account too.

A hot shooting Bullets built a 16-point lead in the opening half on the back of shooting 51 per cent from the floor opposed to 32 from the JackJumpers.

The JackJumpers found their lockdown defence that was a feature of last season, and then built some offensive momentum. They closed the third quarter on a 15-3 run before hitting 11 of the first 15 points of the fourth term.

Johnson kept shooting, though, and his sixth triple sent the game into overtime where both teams traded a couple of threes apiece before a drive and finish from Doyle, and then clutch three-pointer from Rashard Kelly sealed Tasmania's first win of the season.

On top of Doyle's 32 points on 12/22 shooting with 4/11 from downtown, Jack McVeigh delivered 17 points, nine rebounds and three assists for Tasmania, Kelly 14 points and nine boards, Matt Kenyon 10 points, and Jarrad Weeks nine points and four rebounds.

JackJumpers coach Scott Roth was proud of his team's fighting qualities to come away with the win.

"I'm really happy for these guys because we have high character guys that are just trying to build culture, do the right things and play the right way," Roth said. 

"We've got off to some bumpy quarters and bumpy starts, but they are fighting and their energy was fantastic tonight. Sometimes the grind and the journey of getting knocked around a little bit builds some character, and I think that's good for us."

As well as Johnson's 24 points and three assists for the Bullets, Nathan Sobey had 16 points and four rebounds, Jason Cadee 14 points, four boards and two assists, and Tanner Krebs 11 points. 

Bullets coach James Duncan was frustrated to lose a third straight game to open the season despite having their chances.

"It's a difficult one to swallow and obviously there's a little bit of frustration over the last few games where we are right there, but can't get over the hump right now. Defensive execution, offensive execution, it's a mixture of things," Duncan said.

"In the third quarter they turned up the physicality and push us out of our spots a little bit, and some of the easy bunnies we'd normally make didn’t drop. Then we stopped doing what we were doing in the first half which was moving the ball, getting on the rim and picking them apart. 

"All those things stopped so we gave them life and obviously they are playing at home, and that's basketball at times."

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">WE&#39;RE GOING TO OVERTIME<br><br>TYLER JOHNSON WITH THE DAGGER TO KEEP THE <a href="https://twitter.com/BrisbaneBullets?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BrisbaneBullets</a> ALIVE ???<br><br>Catch the rest of the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL23?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL23</a> action on 10 Peach, 10play and Kayo Freebies <a href="https://t.co/79FEHChs3a">pic.twitter.com/79FEHChs3a</a></p>&mdash; The NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1578971535419015170?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 9, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Tanner Krebs is making a habit of starting games well for Brisbane and he again hit his team's first five points before Aron Baynes helped them to a 7-2 lead.

From there Tyler Johnson hit a couple of jumpers and Brisbane went into quarter-time on top 17-11.

Johnson opened up the second period with a pair of three balls to stretch the Brisbane lead out to 11. That became 15 after Devondrick Walker nailed one from downtown too and it threatened to get ugly for Tasmania.

It was Milton Doyle keeping them in a degree of touch as he hit two threes on his way to 12 points for the quarter, but late triples to Brisbane from Johnson and Jason Cadee had the visitors well on top.

Brisbane knocked down 7/11 from three-point land for the half opposed to 4/17 from Tasmania to help the Bullets to the 45-31 advantage.

The JackJumpers might have not found any real offensive rhythm over the first 14 quarters of the season, but that all changed in the third period. 

Matt Kenyon hit a couple of wide open three-pointers to help bridge the gap and then Tasmania ended the third term on a run of scoring 15 of the last 18 points to break even having been down by 13 just minutes earlier.

Brisbane clung to a 55-54 lead at three quarter-time but Tasmania continued the momentum in the fourth with three-pointers from Jack McVeigh and Doyle before Rashard Kelly pushed them out to a three-point lead.

Jarrad Weeks then made it six but the Bullets weren’t going away and stayed in touch down the stretch thanks to triples from DJ Mitchell, Harry Froling and Johnson.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Milton Doyle is getting things moving for the <a href="https://twitter.com/JackJumpers?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JackJumpers</a> - he&#39;s getting them back in this one on both ends ?<br><br>Watch <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL23?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL23</a> live on 10 Peach and 10play <a href="https://t.co/DIWaS8z6fG">pic.twitter.com/DIWaS8z6fG</a></p>&mdash; The NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1578954812544405505?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 9, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

The drama wasn’t over and Johnson kept shooting, and just seconds after jacking up an air ball, he hit a corner three just before time expired to force the game to overtime.

Weeks and McVeigh for Tasmania, and Sobey and Cadee for Brisbane all hit threes to open the extra period but then the JackJumpers imports Doyle and Kelly came up in the dying stages for the win.

Just days after experiencing the homecoming of the Breakers, the JackJumpers now will have the Adelaide 36ers' return home for their season-opener to deal with on Thursday night. The Bullets are up next on Sunday in their home opener against the Sydney Kings. 

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL ROUND 2

TASMANIA JACKJUMPERS 90 (Doyle 32, McVeigh 17, Kelly 14)

BRISBANE BULLETS 86 (Johnson 24, Sobey 16, Cadee 14) 

BOX SCORE