Phoenix Keep on Winning in Brisbane

Thursday, December 22, 2022

Mitch Creek fired in the first half and his teammates followed his lead in the second as the South East Melbourne Phoenix proved too much for the Brisbane Bullets at Nissan Arena on Wednesday night, winning 102-77.

Mitch Creek fired in the first half and his teammates followed his lead in the second as the South East Melbourne Phoenix proved too much for the Brisbane Bullets at Nissan Arena on Wednesday night, winning 102-77.

It always loomed to be a fascinating contest to open Round 12 in the NBL with the Phoenix fresh off a remarkable double overtime win in Gippsland against the Sydney Kings.

However, with the New Zealand Breakers unable to take their place for this clash with Brisbane, South East Melbourne stepped in and did having just completed four games in 11 days.

Meanwhile, Brisbane remains still trying to find its feet under interim head coach Greg Vanderjagt who was in charge for a third game while neither team was close to full strength to add to the intrigue coming into the match up.

The Bullets were again without NBA import guard Tyler Johnson, centre Tyrell Harrison and guard Tanner Krebs.

The Phoenix went into the game without point guard Gary Browne (calf) star forward Ryan Broekhoff (hip) who are both out until the new year following injuries with Chinese centre Zhou Qi having returned home earlier this week for personal reasons.

The Phoenix proved too much, though, with Creek leading the charge after what he did on Sunday with a career-best 46 points.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Alan Williams showing out in this close one ?<br><br>Catch the game live on ESPN via Kayo Sports and Foxtel from 7:30pm AEDT ? <a href="https://t.co/AS5vr1DYoR">pic.twitter.com/AS5vr1DYoR</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1605493410449698816?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 21, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Creek blitzed the Bullets in the first half with 20 of his 29 points before Trey Kell III, Alan Williams and the rest of the Phoenix found their groove as the visitors had five double-figure scorers in their 25-point win.

Kell III finished with 17 points, 10 rebounds and five assists while Adnam had 14, Williams 13 and Junior Madut 10.

Phoenix coach Simon Mitchell praised his side’s ability to perform while players were still sore after an exhausting win over Sydney last game.

"It was a tremendously gutsy performance," Mitchell said.

"We had guys stand up as well. Creeky was great again, Kyle stepped into the starting five very comfortably, Junior Madot had good minutes, Grant Anticevich was productive in his minutes, so was Foxy [Owen Foxwell] - everyone is answering the bell and that’s important for us."

Mitchell added that Gary Browne would still be out for two to three weeks while Ryan Broekhoff’s hip injury was an unusual one and would be reassessed in two weeks' time.

Star guard Nathan Sobey was a constant threat for the Bullets finishing with a season-high 31 points while Aron Baynes showed his touch was continuing to return with 14 points and DJ Mitchell matched him with 14.

Baynes and Williams attacked each other early in a physical opening quarter which saw the Bullets take a 22-20 lead.

Bullets interim coach Greg Vanderjagt revealed Sobey was sick with gastro and only proved his fitness two hours before the game while Baynes was also ill but still suited up.

"Sobes has been in bed for two days with gastro and he walks in at 5.30pm today and says he is playing - credit to him he played 31 minutes, had 31 points," Vanderjagt said.

"Our offensive intent was good at times but defensively we gave up 36 points in that second quarter and it's defensive transition, which is a product of shot selection and turnovers, it’s a product of communication and we talked about it at the end of the game.

"We have momentum and then it's just three or four possessions that break our backs. Right now it is all about actions, I’m tired of talking, the group is tired of talking, we need people to lead and Sobes led tonight.

"He gave us 31 points and played his backside off - it is our response to adversity that lets us down."

He added that Baynes appeared all right despite taking an elbow late in the game and he would be monitored by the high-performance team.

Vanderjagt hopes to have Tyler Johnson (knee), Gorjok Gak (knee) and Tanner Krebs (ankle) train on Friday and make a case to return next game against Perth.

"It feels like MASH right now, we have so many injured soldiers," Vanderjagt said.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Aron Baynes is looking bouncy ? <br><br>Catch the game live on ESPN via Kayo Sports and Foxtel from 7:30pm AEDT ? <a href="https://t.co/JOXXSnhycK">pic.twitter.com/JOXXSnhycK</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1605485369624887296?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 21, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

While Baynes had a 10-point first half, Williams, Kyle Adnam and Mitch Creek took charge in the second term as the Phoenix took a double-figure lead before Nathan Sobey nailed a three-pointer on the half-time buzzer to make it 56-47 to the visitors.

Sobey’s 17 points kept the Bullets in the game while they continued to struggle to have any answer for Creek who had 20 points at the main break while his side won the second quarter 36-25.

Williams went down with an ankle injury late in the second term which hit the Phoenix hard given star Zhou Qi was already keeping their frontline shorthanded.

Williams returned in the third term despite looking uncomfortable but it mattered not as Creek and the Phoenix kept on rolling with Kell III’s three-pointer taking the lead past 16 points midway through the term as the visitors entered the final 10 minutes up 79-61.

The Phoenix took their lead past 20 points early in the last quarter and despite Sobey continuing to fire, South East Melbourne scored a comfortable win.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Anticevich is reaping the rewards of the Phoenix's hustle ?<br><br>Watch <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL23?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL23</a> live on ESPN via Kayo Sports & Foxtel ? <a href="https://t.co/JsAfEEm16a">pic.twitter.com/JsAfEEm16a</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1605506356382793729?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 21, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Baynes copped an accidental elbow from Williams as a went to the basket in the final quarter, the Boomers big man needed a few moments to collect himself on the floor but played a few more minutes before going to the bench with the result decided.

The hectic schedule for the Phoenix continues with a Christmas Eve match up now with Ian Clark and the Adelaide 36ers. Brisbane doesn’t play again until hosting the Perth Wildcats next Tuesday.

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL ROUND 12

BRISBANE BULLETS 77 (Sobey 31, Baynes 14, Mitchell 14)

SOUTH EAST MELBOURNE PHOENIX 104 (Creek 29, Kell III 17, Adnam 14)

BOX SCORE