By Steve Barrett
The Brisbane Bullets have ended their winless start to the NBL season with an emphatic 82-56 trouncing of the Illawarra Hawks at the WIN Entertainment Centre.
Ex-NBA centre Aron Baynes (17 points, 14 rebounds) produced easily his best performance as an NBL player, while Jason Cadee (16 points, 4-of-6 three-pointers) caught fire from the perimeter on Monday night.
Aron Baynes drives the ball to the basket in the Bullets’ win over the Illawarra Hawks at WIN Entertainment Centre in Wollongong on Monday.Credit:Getty
Tyler Harvey top-scored for the Hawks with 13 points, but connected on just 5-of-18 shots, his woes emblematic of the home side’s shooting struggles.
Illawarra converted at dismal clips of 30 per cent from the floor, 20 per cent from outside the arc and 41 per cent from the free throw line.
Jason Cadee lays up a shot. Credit:Getty
“We played to their game plan, totally,” Hawks coach Jacob Jackomas said.
“We relied on the three-ball too much, and we didn’t get our feet in the paint at all.
“We were on a path of being pretty good, now we’re on a path of being pretty bad.”
Unforgivingly, Illawarra missed five of six foul shots in the first term, while at the other end they couldn’t contain Baynes in the low block as Brisbane moved ahead 22-13 at quarter-time.
Baynes, a bronze medal winner at last year’s Tokyo Olympics, showed why his off-season signature was so sought-after with an even more commanding second stanza, stretching the Bullets’ advantage to 44-29 at half-time.
The Hawks upped their defensive efforts in the third period but their shoddy offence meant no significant inroads could be made into the deficit.
Import DJ Mitchell, back in Brisbane’s side following a club-imposed suspension for a training infraction, shrugged off a thumb injury to nail a three-point bomb in the opening stages of the fourth.
Baynes continued to dictate before Cadee got rolling from long range as the Bullets went on a 16-2 spree, leading by as many as 29 points before coasting home.
“We were able to put a few more minutes together – that was the biggest thing for us,” Baynes said.
“If we can keep doing that, we can hopefully start ticking that win column over a few more times.”
– AAP
