Match Summary
NBL FINALS – SEMI FINALS GAME 1
MELBOURNE UNITED 74 (Agada 16, Lual-Acuil 15, Dellavedova 11) defeated
TASMANIA JACKJUMPERS 63 (Adams 16, McVeigh 15, Steindl 8)
Melbourne leads best-of-three series 1-0
BOXSCORE
The defending NBL champions Melbourne United showed they are still the team to beat in NBL 22 as they defeatrf the JackJumpers a 74-63 loss at John Cain Arena.
In the first game of the three game semi final series, the home team showed why they are the number one defensive team in the competition, Melbourne overwhelmed the JackJumpers at the offensive end. Not allowing any easy shots for 40 straight minutes as the JackJumpers struggled to find any rhythm.
The JackJumpers key playmakers Josh Magette and Josh Adams in particular struggled getting open and play their free flowing game. Which made it difficult for Tasmania to get their offence going.
United were almost unrecognisable from the side that went down to Tasmania by 22 points five days prior, proving they were able to move up a gear when it mattered.
But Melbourne didn’t have it all thier own way. Tasmania proved a particular tough matchup in the first half, as the leagues top defensive teams battled it out. Jack McVeigh and Josh Adams were once again was the focal point offence early, scoring 13 points in the first quarter.
While at the other end Matthew Dellavedova was helping Melbourne were finding their range from outside, as they knocked down four three pointers for the quarter before taking a 20-15 lead.
Having contained the MVP finalist Jo Lual-Acuil to a first quarter with no shots attempted, Tasmania felt the full force of big Jo for the remainder of the game. He was a force under the basket that the JackJumpers had no answer for. He had 8 of his 15 points in the second quarter, where he battled MiKyle McIntosh consistently under the basket to maintain a 5 point halftime lead.
But the third quarter belonged to Melbourne United, outscoring Tasmania 21-7 for the quarter to open up an 18 point lead by the end of the quarter. Their defense stepped up, forcing Tasmania into shooting 2/16 field goals. A lot of this defensive work was thanks was led by Lual-Acuil, who was an anchor in the middle. He swatted away several of McIntosh and Adams drives, and forced every drive into a difficult off balance low percentage shot. This led Tasmania into taking several low percentage mid-range shots late in the shot clock.
Facing a 19 point deficit going into the forth, Tasmania were on the verge of seeing the game blow out to a 25-30 point blow out. However they hung tough, and did not give up and slowly made inroads into the lead. They brought the game back to single figures in the final two minutes, but Melbourne slowed the game down to ensure the victory. Despite losing going down by 11 points the 20-8 final quarter will be Scott Roth’s focus for game 2 on Saturday.
Key takeaways from the game
Rebounds
In the three meetings between the sides this year, the team that won the rebounds won the game. After being humbled on the boards 5 days prior in a loss to the JackJumpers, there was no repeat performance tonight. Melbourne outrebounded them 52-32, including 15 offensive rebounds that returned 24 second chance points.
3 point shooting
The JackJumpers went 3 from 14 from outside for the game, which is one of their lowest levels of three point attempts for the season. It was well down on the 32 attempts they too in their previous game against Melbourne on Saturday.
