JackJumpers stand tall to overcome Bullets

Milton Doyle continues to put himself in the discussion as the best clutch performer in NBL23 as he put up 33 points to lift the Tasmania JackJumpers to a gritty 99-84 road win on Sunday against an energetic Brisbane Bullets.

Fresh off a match-winning performance late last Saturday against Melbourne United, Doyle produced his second 30-plus point performance in the NBL this season to lead the JackJumpers past the Bullets at Nissan Arena.

It was a tight battle most of the way too with Brisbane looking to make it consecutive wins under caretaker coach Sam Mackinnon on the back of beating the Perth Wildcats in overtime on Thursday.

With Gorjok Gak and DJ Mitchell coming up big for Brisbane, and Nathan Sobey leading the energy, the Bullets gave themselves a chance but the JackJumpers just know how to hang around, and then get the job done.

After a Mitchell dunk had Brisbane up 80-78, Tasmania took over with the next 14 points on the way to an eventual 15-point win. 

Doyle was the central figure, not only knocking down a crucial three but setting up both Will Magnay and Jack McVeigh for finishes at the rim as part of that stunning 14-0 game clinching run.

Doyle beat the 32 points he scored against Brisbane the first time the two teams played this season to finish with 33 for the JackJumpers to go with nine rebounds and three assists on shooting 12/19 from the field and 5/10 from downtown.

Jack McVeigh added 16 points, seven rebounds and three assists for Tasmania, Josh Magette 13 points and two assists, Clint Steindl 11 points on 3/4 three-point shooting and Will Magnay an encouraging 10 points and five rebounds.

While JackJumpers coach Scott Roth was delighted with Doyle and the rest of his team, it was Magnay in his third game back that had him emotional.

"A wounded dog is dangerous and they've got a lot of talent over there with their guards so it was a great fight by us in the second half to keep them to 30 points and do what we're doing," Roth said.

"I'm a little bit emotional because of this guy (Magnay) right here. He's had a heck of a 10 months to come back and do what he's done and I'm quite proud of the work he's put in, and the effort that he's shown.

"To come back home here and play that kind of game just speaks volumes about this kid. I love him to death."

On the back of that overtime win on Thursday over the Wildcats, the Bullets continued that momentum into the game with a couple of early dunks to Gorjok Gak. A triple from Jason Cadee then put them up 12-6 before Tyler Johnson and Nathan Sobey got going.

Brisbane then went on an 8-0 run including another three from Johnson to see the lead grow to 24-13 but Tasmania just don't know how to lie down.

The JackJumpers closed the quarter well with a 10-3 run including three balls to Milton Doyle and Clint Steindl, and four quick points to Sean Macdonald to cut the Brisbane lead to 27-24 after one.

Steindl opened up the second period hitting two more three-pointers for the JackJumpers, but the Bullets were doing enough to maintain a narrow advantage through most of the quarter.

DJ Mitchell continued to step up huge too on his way to 11 points with back-to-back three-pointers after a massive putback slam. 

However, Doyle was on fire for Tasmania and two triples and an and-one play late in the half took him to 18 points and saw the JackJumpers draw level at 54-54 by the major break.

Tasmania opened the second half strongly with a 9-3 run including yet another three from Doyle while Brisbane also got another triple from Mitchell.

It was a fired up Sobey who kept the Bullets in the contest, though, and he made a three to bring his team back within one, and soon after made a pair of free-throws to bring scores level.

It was only two free-throws on the buzzer to Tasmania from Josh Magette that had the JackJumpers leading 74-72 by three quarter-time.

Rashard Kelly scored his first points of the game to open the fourth quarter and keep Tasmania on top, but Brisbane soon took the lead back thanks to a flush from Mitchell to continue his big afternoon.

A nice Doyle pass to a rolling Jack McVeigh tied scores back up and set up a big last four minutes for both teams. A drive and bucket to McVeigh put Tasmania back on top before a Doyle to Will Magnay alley-oop had them up four.

Doyle then broke through the 30-point barrier with a massive three to put the JackJumpers up seven. They weren’t done yet with another drive and finish to McVeigh followed by another alley-oop from Doyle to Magnay.

That completed a 14-0 run and that saw the JackJumpers end up winning by 15 to improve to 7-6 on the season while the Bullets are now 4-8. 

The JackJumpers are next in action on Sunday in Sydney against the Kings.

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL ROUND 9

TASMANIA JACKJUMPERS 99 (Doyle 33, McVeigh 16, Magette 13) 

BRISBANE BULLETS 84 (Sobey 20, Johnson 17, Mitchell 16)

BOX SCORE