Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
A breakout masterclass from rising star Max Mackinnon has launched the Brisbane Bullets, last season’s wooden spooners, to the top of the NBL ladder with a 103-95 victory over the Illawarra Hawks.
NBA prospect Mackinnon exploded with 31 points – including 6-of-8 three-pointers – and 12 rebounds at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre on Friday night as the Bullets notched back-to-back wins for the first time in more than a year.
Lithuanian wizard Arnas Velicka (17 points, 11 assists), Tyrell Harrison (17 points) and Nate Hinton (16 points, 10 boards) provided useful allies for Mackinnon as Brisbane became the only team in the competition with two wins.
Captain Tyler Harvey scored 20 points off the bench for the Hawks, the only winless side to date.
After Brisbane jumped Illawarra early for a 7-0 start, Illawarra fought back to briefly capture the lead, before the Bullets finished the opening quarter strongly to lead 25-18 at the first change.
Mackinnon started the second period with a lay-up, a four-point play and a three-pointer – all in the first 80 seconds – as Brisbane’s buffer ballooned to 34-18.
It was soon 46-28 before Harvey led a Hawks revival, the gap reduced to 50-42 on import Milton Doyle’s crafty up-and-under drive.
Mackinnon continued to fire from outside in the third stanza, burying his fourth and fifth three-pointers, but the Bullets’ offence dried up later in the term.
Illawarra reduced the deficit to 73-66 at three-quarter time, but let Brisbane off the hook by missing eight consecutive free throws.
The Hawks kept chipping away in the fourth, closing the deficit to one point, before being denied by that man Mackinnon.
The son of Bullets championship legend and 2007 league MVP Sam Mackinnon drained another triple, which Hinton followed with one of his own to stave off Illawarra’s rearguard action.
