Harrison the hero as Brisbane comeback sinks Breakers
Shayne Hope |
Tyrell Harrison has produced a crucial defensive double-play to seal the Brisbane Bullets’ remarkable 84-83 NBL comeback win over New Zealand.
The Bullets trailed by as much as 24 points as Breakers big man Sam Mennenga dominated the first half in Auckland on Thursday night, but fought their way back into the contest.
Star imports Casey Prather (23 points, 12 rebounds) and Lamar Patterson (20 points) were vital contributors, the latter giving Brisbane a one-point lead through a close-range bucket with 9.4 seconds left on the clock.
Breakers playmaker Parker Jackson-Cartwright and Izayah Le’Afa each had two-point attempts on the final play, but both were swatted away off the ring by Bullets hero Harrison.
“I was just in the right place at the right time,” Harrison said.
“Everything else is just second nature from there for me.”
Bullets coach Stu Lash was glowing in his assessment of Harrison’s defensive performance in restricting his Tall Blacks teammate Mennenga to just two points after halftime.
Harrison also had 16 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks in an influential display.
“He’s had a couple of these throughout the course of the year,” Lash said.
“Tyrell’s defensive presence for us doesn’t always show up on the stats sheet.
“But we don’t hold a team to 26 points in the second half without an anchor like this back there.”
Taine Murray also came up with a crucial block on New Zealand’s Max Darling moments before Patterson’s go-ahead bucket.
The result gave Brisbane a 3-5 record, while New Zealand slip to 2-7.
Mennenga produced an outrageous first-half display, pouring in 25 points in the first 18 minutes of what was a one-sided contest to that point.
The Breakers led 52-28 when Mennenga was given a rest on the bench late in the second period and couldn’t prevent Brisbane’s second-half fightback.
The lead had evaporated by the early stages of the last quarter, and the Breakers found themselves in foul trouble, putting the visitors in the bonus with six minutes left.
Both sides had chances to win it before Harrison pulled off the decisive play.
Mennenga finished with 27 points for New Zealand, while Jackson-Cartwright had 17 points, six rebounds and five assists.
Brisbane guard Tristan Devers was important defensively in limiting Jackson-Cartwright to 7-of-23 shooting from the field.
Mennenga lamented a game of two halves, conceding New Zealand caved under pressure in a “completely unacceptable” second half when the Bullets made their move.
“In the first half we were flowing,” Mennenga said.
“When the ball’s moving, we’re playing with pace and we’re connected on the defensive end, our rhythm is easy to play off and feed off, and I think we lost some.
“We get into the second half and we feel like our back’s against the wall and we feel that pressure.
“We did a very poor job of managing possessions … and that’s a discipline factor – myself included.
“And on the defensive end I don’t think we were connected like we were in that first half. That connection was lost and we were letting guys get loose and getting to the rim.”
AAP
