2 weeks Ago By Chris Pike
Tasmania didn't look like capitalising on another strong first half but two late triples from both Craig Sword and Jordon Crawford saw the reigning NBL champions dig deep and beat Brisbane 87-79. The JackJumpers arrived at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre sitting last having lost their previous three games and they held the Bullets to nine points in the first 13 minutes on Saturday night. Tasmania led by as many as 19 but Bullets captain Mitch Norton (20 points, four assists, three steals) lifted his team and had them leading by five with seven minutes to go.
The JackJumpers responded and even though they had only made five three-pointers up to that point, two quick ones from Crawford (16 points, five assists) and another two by Sword (eight points, four rebounds) saw them win by eight. Tasmania came into the contest after two strong first halves in losses to the Sydney Kings and Adelaide 36ers, and raced to another 13-1 start. The JackJumpers were leading 28-9 early in the second period thanks to an Anthony Drmic (seven points) three ball and the visitors had all the momentum.
Brisbane did manage to get back within 10 by halftime with unlikely sources Norton, Tohi Smith-Milner (eight points) and Jarred Bairstow (seven points, six rebounds) combining for 21 of their 32 points. The game then changed completely coming out of the main break with the Bullets scoring 30 points in the third quarter after registering just 32 in the first two. Brisbane were up three at three-quarter time thanks to a late Keandre Cook (eight points) triple and then Norton's second three had his team leading by five with seven minutes to play.
A couple of three balls to Crawford and another to Sword eventually proved the difference as Tasmania improved to 3-5 with the win. Majok Deng stepped up for 16 points and six rebounds, Milton Doyle 15 points, six boards and four assists, and Will Magnay 13 points and nine rebounds. Casey Prather also had 11 points and four rebounds for the Bullets, with Josh Bannan providing nine points and nine boards and Tyrell Harrison seven points and 11 rebounds.
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