JackJumpers beat wounded Bullets to stay top

Josh Bannan and Will Magnay combined for 34 points, 16 rebounds and 12 assists against a Brisbane Bullets team without Tyrell Harrison and Jacob Holt with the Tasmania JackJumpers retaining NBL top spot with the 106-85 Ignite Cup victory.

The injury curse has again struck the Bullets early in NBL27 and they arrived at MyState Bank Arena for the Wednesday night match up missing their two big men, Harrison and Holt, with ankle injuries.

That was with already being without Arnas Velička and Sam McDaniel, but there was some reprieve with the debut of triple Olympian and 464-game NBA veteran point guard Raul Neto along with the return from injury of Taine Murray.

But the JackJumpers had too much size and firepower having started on fire with a 12-2 opening and never giving up that advantage even though the Bullets did put in a spirited showing with backs against the wall.

The JackJumpers ended up winning the game and each quarter to take all seven Ignite Cup points on offer too shooting 59 per cent from the field and 11/22 from deep while limiting Brisbane to 12 free-throw attempts.

Josh Bannan enjoyed the night against his former team with 22 points, nine rebounds and five assists with front court buddy Will Magnay having 12 points, seven boards, seven assists and two steals.

Taran Armstrong also had another 19 points and six assists with David Johnson contributing 17 points on 3/5 three-point shooting, Dakota Mathias 16 points and six assists while going 3/6 from the outside, and Nick Marshall 12 points, four rebounds and two steals.

It might have been a loss for the Bullets, but they did fight hard considering who was missing with Max Mackinnon finishing with 21 points and four rebounds with 4/8 three-point shooting.

Nate Hinton added 13 points and five assists, Jaylin Williams 10 points, three rebounds and three assists, Lat Mayen nine points and three boards, and 464-game NBA veteran and three-time Olympian Raul Neto nine points and six assists on 4/4 shooting in almost 14 minutes.

The Bullets were right up against it with Tyrell Harrison and Jacob Holt ruled out up against the strong Tasmania front court, and then all their worst fears were realised early with a 12-2 start from the home team.

That included a three ball from Nick Marshall and then consecutive layups from Taran Armstrong but Brisbane did well to work back into the contest from there even though the JackJumpers were still leading 22-15 by quarter-time.

Brisbane might have missed all five three-point attempts but had battled hard with Max Mackinnon up to seven points and a nice little cameo from Raul Neto with two points, two rebounds and an assist.

It was a high-scoring second quarter from both teams with the Bullets doing well to stay in the contest but the JackJumpers had pushed out their lead to 56-44 by half-time on 34 points with 12/17 shooting from the field and 5/9 from downtown.

Armstrong was up to 13 points with Josh Bannan adding 10 points, five rebounds and two assists against his old team, and Dakota Mathias nine points and four assists.

The Bullets added 29 points for the quarter on 11/21 shooting while hitting their first three triples of the game with Mackinnon up to 11 points, Jaylin Williams 10 and Neto contributing four with three assists in his first six NBL minutes.

Tasmania made a fast start to the second half with a 7-2 run including another triple from Marshall before the Bullets got a steadying triple from Mackinnon only for him to be subbed out straight after.

Then again after Brisbane were picking up some momentum to get back within 11 including a three-pointer from Neto, Tasmania took control starting with a three-pointer to Mathias.

On the back of that, the JackJumpers went into three quarter-time leading 84-64 thanks to 28 points in the frame on 11/18 shooting with Armstrong up to 17 points and four assists, and Bannan 15 points, eight rebounds and four assists.

Tasmania then completed the job with 22 points to 21 in the fourth quarter to claim all seven of the Ignite Cup points along with retaining top spot.

After three games at home in six days, the JackJumpers now have until next Friday before playing the Sydney Kings in Launceston while the Bullets back up on the road on Saturday against the Illawarra Hawks.

TASMANIA JACKJUMPERS 106 – BRISBANE BULLETS 85

Tasmania JackJumpers
Josh Bannan – 22 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists
Taran Armstrong – 19 points, 6 assists, 2 steals
David Johnson – 17 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists
Dakota Mathias – 16 points, 6 assists, 3 rebounds
Will Magnay – 12 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals

Brisbane Bullets
Max Mackinnon – 21 points, 4 rebounds, 4/8 3PT
Nate Hinton – 13 points, 5 assists, 3 steals
Jaylin Williams – 10 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists
Raul Neto – 9 points, 6 assists, 4/4 FG
Lat Mayen – 9 points, 3 rebounds