Bullets beaten at the buzzer
THE misfiring Brisbane Bullets could change their name to the “Brisbane Blew-its” after surrendering a 21-point lead in an 81-80 loss to NBL champions Perth yesterday.
Wildcats star Bryce Cotton hit a jumpshot with less than a second left to hand Perth an unlikely victory and condemn a floundering Brisbane to their sixth-straight loss.
The comeback from 21 points is the biggest by any team in the NBL this season.
The Bullets (7-14) have been guilty of throwing away double-digit leads on numerous occasions this campaign.
It was ‘‘Groundhog Day” for the home side at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre as they butchered another win with lacklustre defensive intensity and poor offensive execution when it mattered most.
Brisbane had six turnovers in the last quarter and 15 overall while Perth grabbed 14 offensive rebounds for the game in two telling stats.
Any hope of Brisbane challenging for a playoffs berth is just ever-so-faintly mathematical – if at all – but certainly not realistic.
The Wildcats outscored Brisbane 49-33 across the last two quarters despite playing an intense top-of-the-table clash against Melbourne in Perth on Friday night.
Brisbane led by 21 points with seven minutes left in the second quarter but Perth kept grinding away and hit the lead for the first time in the match in the dying minutes.
Brisbane coach Andrej Lemanis could not hide his displeasure with another gutwrenching loss.
“It’s frustrating, obviously,” he said.
‘‘In a six-game losing streak, two of them have been by a point, one in overtime, one by three points … the other one we had opportunities as well.
“It’s always an accumulation of things … if we knew the answer we would be using it.
“The frustration comes because we are good enough.”
Travis Trice topscored for Brisbane with 18 points and had five assists while Perrin Buford had 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Reuben Te Rangi had 12 points but three turnovers while Stephen Holt had 11 points for Brisbane.