Bullets fire under DMac to beat Breakers

The Brisbane Bullets were as low as they could get as they returned to the Brisbane Entertainment Centre on Monday night including losing two more players, but put that aside to hammer the New Zealand Breakers 99-85.

The Bullets were back on their home floor having lost their past seven matches by an average of 22 points including by 29 on Saturday night in Darryl McDonald's first game as coach since replacing Stu Lash against the South East Melbourne Phoenix.

Brisbane were also without Sam McDaniel (foot) and Taine Murray (ankle) with Casey Prather, Dakota Mathias and Lamar Patterson out long-term, but this was a rejuvenated Bullets outfit.

McDonald had them playing a simplified offence where everything went through big man Tyrell Harrison who finished with 24 points, 11 rebounds, three blocks and two assists.

The Bullets put up 56 points in the first half and ended up leading by as much as 20, and completing the 14-point victory to improve to 6-14 on the season.

Along with what Harrison did inside for the Bullets, Alex Ducas landed 4/10 from deep for 18 points with five assists while Terry Taylor scored all 14 of his points in the first half while also having six boards and three blocks.

Javon Freeman-Liberty also added 13 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists and two steals for his first home win with a cameo from rookie big man Jacob Holt with nine points too.

It's a horror loss for the Breakers who were trying to stay in touch of the top six who are now 7-13 with three straight defeats.

Parker Jackson-Cartwright battled hard for another 26 points with 4/6 three-point shooting but didn’t have enough help with Izaiah Brockington having 18 points and six boards, and Carlin Davison 15 points and seven rebounds.

But the problems were at the defensive end for the Breakers as they coughed up 56 points in the first half against a Bullets team who had only been averaging 77 for a game in their seven defeats.

The Bullets were dealt a double blow before the match when McDaniel and Murray were ruled out, but it didn't seem to affect them.

Taylor nailed two long bombs in the opening quarter on the way to a 10-point haul to give Brisbane a 26-20 lead by the first break.

Alarm bells were ringing for New Zealand as the lead extended to 19 points by late in the second term.

Harrison laid down some big dunks, while Ducas produced a triple treat of three-pointers on the way to nine points for the quarter.

Jackson-Cartwright's 13 points for the Breakers was a rare shining light for the visitors in what was an otherwise dismal first half.

Brisbane's 56-41 lead was their largest half-time advantage of the season.

New Zealand struggled to eat into the deficit in the third quarter, and they were up against it when Holt nailed a buzzer-beating three-pointer to give Brisbane a 79-63 advantage heading into the last change.

There was a point midway through the final quarter when it looked like nerves might get the better of Brisbane, but another long-range bomb from Ducas settled the deal.

The Breakers now remain on the road and take on the Tasmania JackJumpers on Boxing Day while the Bullets remain at home to host Melbourne United on Saturday night.

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL SEASON 2025/26

BRISBANE BULLETS 99 (Harrison 24, Ducas 18, Taylor 14)

NEW ZEALAND BREAKERS 85 (Jackson-Cartwright 26, Brockington 18, Davison 15)

BOX SCORE