‘I loved our fourth quarter’: United show signs of turning the corner

Friday night may have been their third straight loss, but Melbourne United believe it was a step in the right direction.

After tough losses to Perth and South East Melbourne, Dean Vickerman's side fought back from as many as 18 points down against Adelaide, to send the game to overtime.

Although the hosts at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre prevailed 114-105, securing them their seventh win on the trot, Vickerman believes there are positives to take from the Round 12 defeat.

"I loved the way we played basketball in the fourth quarter," Vickerman said in the post-game press conference.

"To hold them to 14 points, where the majority were free-throws, [was impressive]."

"[Another positive] was our commitment to get second shots. The way that we crashed offensive boards, the way that we dove on the floor and the just the general winning plays we made with effort was so much better than the last two games."

"We [have] slipped a little bit and still a lot of things to work on, but the general intent to play the right way was much improved."

Echoing his coach's sentiments was three-time NBL champion Chris Goulding, who finished the game with a team-high 24 points on Friday night.

"We haven't been up to standard in so many offensive and defensive areas the last couple weeks, but the intent to sprint and try space the floor, make it easier for others, [created some good looks tonight]," Goulding said.

United now has a quick turnaround, returning to Melbourne for a clash with the Sydney Kings at John Cain Arena on Sunday.

"There was definitely some areas we identified as non-negotiable [going into this game] that I think when we review this fixture, we were better at," Goulding said.

"With such a quick turnaround, we're going to have to try and take positives out of this and keep making sure that our process gets better every time we step out there."

"We want to get back to being a team that when we review the game, we're proud of what we see because, you know, the last few games, we haven't been that situation."

Sunday's fixture tips off at 2.30pm AEDT, live on ESPN and Channel 10.