NBL round 13: Phoenix’s Gary Browne ejected for striking Aron Baynes

Down seven with a tick under seven minutes to go in the game, Browne was hammered by a typically physical Baynes’ screen that walked the line of legality before lashing out in frustration, his blow connecting with the big man’s midsection.

As Baynes hit the deck, Browne appeared to immediately grasp the seriousness of his action, throwing his hands up.

Browne was then ejected from the game.

Exasperated Phoenix coach Mike Kelly was surprised by Browne’s “selfish”, “bonehead” play and said it was “out of character”.

“We handled the situation poorly. And that was Gary in that situation,” Kelly said.

“I’m always surprised when someone does something out of character and that goes to the detriment of their team.

“So, from a guy like Gary, who’s a great guy and loves his teammates, yeah, [I’m] really surprised.”

The 30-year-old Puerto Rican is a popular figure in The Heartland and a genuine nice guy but It’s the second time this season he has lashed out on the court.

Browne was involved in a near-identical incident earlier this season when he gave Adelaide’s big Kiwi Tohi Smith-Milner some knuckle.Browne was charged with striking and fined $1100, with an early guilty plea reducing that to $700.

Following Saturday night’s clash, the league’s game review panel will assess the incident and make a determination on whether any action is required.

The GRP does not take prior incidents into consideration but does have the power to clear, fine or suspend Browne in a similar vein to the AFL’s match review officer.

The GRP uses a scale to assess the severity of the player’s conduct but, unlike the AFL where there are multiple weekly instances, there is less precedent in the NBL, given physical incidents are far less frequent.

The GRP deemed Browne’s November strike against the Sixers as intentional and low impact.

Interestingly, if he’s referred to the tribunal, it would make its own determination on whether or not Browne’s earlier indiscretion will be taken into account.

In what looms as a further blow for the Phoenix, star big man Alan Williams knocked knees in the second quarter and played with a visible limp before he was shut down in the fourth.

He will have scans back in Melbourne on Sunday but it’s understood there’s a confidence the injury is not a major one – Williams had surgery on his PCL and missed time earlier in the season.

It’s a fourth loss in five games for the slumping Phoenix, who hold onto fifth spot with a 9-10 record.

BULLETS KEEP DREAM ALIVE

The Brisbane Bullets kept their playoff dreams alive on Saturday after an enthralling 95-83 victory over the South East Melbourne Phoenix snapped a four-game losing streak.

The Bullets, encouraged by a passionate Nissan Arena crowd, led the entire game after a first half lead of 15 points proved too large for the visitors to come back from.

The Phoenix came back to trail by five heading into the final quarter, however the brilliance of Nathan Sobey, who scored 35 points, and the harassing defence of Shannon Scott ensured Brisbane fans entered the new year with the hopes of a playoff berth still intact.

Sobey spearheaded the Bullets from start to finish after beginning the game with a two-handed-jam, but a crucial steal from Scott midway through the final frame changed the game.

After a much-needed Sobey three, Scott stole the ball and earned another possession. On that possession, Phoenix guard Gary Browne was ejected for an unsportsmanlike foul where he looked to have swung a hand hard into the stomach of a screen-setting Baynes.

Scott, one of the competition’s best on-ball-defenders, earning a match-defining seven-point-swing for Brisbane after two Baynes free throws and a lay-up from Sobey took the life out of a Browne-less Phoenix.

Prior to his ejection Browne was crafty scoring 13 points while Mitch Creek (11 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, two steals) returned from a knee injury in strong fashion.

Owen Foxwell (11 points), Alan Williams (13 points) Abdel Nader (13 points) and Matt Kenyon (14 points) reached double figures for the visitors in the clash but it was not enough to distinguish a scorching-hot-Sobey who had help in Josh Bannan (17 points), among others.

SOBEY ON A MISSION

Nathan Sobey took it upon himself to get Brisbane off to a flying start on Saturday night, the Boomer slamming home an emphatic dunk off the tip and splashing countless jump shots to finish the first quarter with 13 points.

Sobey, who scored as many first quarter points as he did in four during Wed

nesday’s loss, said with the season on the line he was looking to stamp his mark early.

“My intent was to come out aggressive and get good looks for myself and my teammates,” Sobey said in an interview at the end of the first frame.

In bright pink shoes and on a night where his jump shot looked crisp as ever, the Boomer gave Brisbane exactly what they wanted, and needed – a good start.

Brisbane led 32-23 after the first frame and then 57-42 at the main break after Sobey’s spectacular first half captain’s knock.

SCHUELLER SHOWS PATIENCE WITH PRATHER

On a night where three-time NBL champion Casey Prather was expected to be the difference maker, it was Brisbane’s Boomer Sobey who turned the tide.

Chasing their first win after four straight losses, many would have expected Prather to have entered the game by the half.

But Brisbane head coach Justin Schueller opted against it, his team playing too well for the exciting injury replacement to be injected into the clash.

In the first half, with the likes of Josh Bannan, Aron Baynes, Mitch Norton and Sam McDaniel chipping in, Schueller’s squad shot 54.5 per cent from the field.

Meanwhile the Melbourne Phoenix shot it at 37.8 per cent, Brisbane’s suffocating defence and loud home crowd creating an edge.

BULLETS’ THIRD QUARTER WOES

If the Bullets want to make a push for the playoffs, their third quarter output must get better.

Coach Justin Schueller and Josh Bannan admitted after Wednesday’s loss that the way they came out of the main break had everything to do with their disappointing 81-71 loss at the hands of the BNZ Breakers.

After a strong first half where they posted 57 points, the Bullets lost the third by 10 points and had their lead shrunk to five when beginning the final frame ahead 72-67.

With an eight-point-run in the third, the visitors had found their groove and Brisbane had lost their comfortable 15-point-buffer.

KINGS COACH STATEMENT SPURS DENZEL-LED VICTORY OVER TAIPANS

– Matt Cleary

Sydney Kings coach Mahmoud Abdelfattah lit a fire at the tip-off at Qudos Bank Arena on Friday night when his team began the game against Cairns Taipans with two guards, Shaun Bruce and Jaylen Adams, in the starting five.

It was a statement heard loud and clear by Denzel Valentine, who had five years with Chicago Bulls and may have expected to start the game.

Valentine was visibly fired up – in the last quarter he incurred a foul for ‘taunting’ his opponent – and finished with a game-high 29 points and eight rebounds.

Valentine’s steal and dunk at the death delighted the big crowd of 12,788 and put a punctuation mark on his team’s important 101-82 win.

LOVE FOR GLOVER

Following Angus Glover’s unsuccessful three-point attempt at the end of the first quarter, Bruce, in game 150, went off the court mouthing off to Sam Mennenga. Glover stepped between he and Patrick Miller who pushed Glover away.

Glover then gesticulated to match officials that Miller had caught him with a forearm to the face. Officials studied video during the break – and hit Glover and Miller with technical fouls.

Glover, who’s played spare minutes this season, made a pair of threes in the first quarter and drew an offensive foul. Glover then didn’t play any further part in the half.

He finished the game with six points and Y assists in 9:47 minutes on court, down from his season average 14:45 minutes.

COACHES CHALLENGED

“C’mon Mike!” Abdelfattah exclaimed to referee Michael Aylen when the Kings were penalised for a defensive foul.

Aylen replied: “You know, you’re on a warning here. Please do not continue. You don’t like it? Challenge it.”

At the other end Taipans big man Sam Wardenburg was penalised for a blocking foul and immediately ran off the court to tell his coach not to challenge.

Taipans coaching staff disagreed and the challenge was burned. Wardenburg’s four fouls stuck – not ideal mid-way through the third quarter.

Kouat Noi was fouled for slapping at the arm of Bobi Klintman and Abdelfattah challenged successfully.

KINGS DEFEND

If there’s been a knock on the Kings this year it’s been around a lack of urgency in defence. No lead has been safe.

Early doors, Sudanese-born, Cairns-raised Bul Kuol tore out of the blocks with three three-pointers, a bucket and two rebounds. Kuol, however, didn’t score again in the half and finished with only another four points for the match.

With 40 seconds to play in the first half Jaylen Adams made a scything run for the basket that resulted in a crowd-pleasing lay-up.

When he drew a three-point foul the Kings went to the break ahead by nine. Adams, the league MVP in 2021/22, finished with 15 points and three assists. Jordy Hunter was imperious for Sydney with 16 rebounds and 13 points.

It was the third quarter that won it for Sydney. They kept Cairns to 12 points and went to the last break leading by 12 courtesy of a bustling Valentine basket.

WILDCATS’ COTTON ON AS HOT STREAK CONTINUES AT EXPENSE OF 36ERS

The Perth Wildcats’ stunning resurgence continued at the Adelaide 36ers’ expense on Thursday night, superstar Bryce Cotton lighting up the Sixers in a devastating third-quarter blitz to set up a comprehensive 18-point win.

The clash was the third game of a taxing six-day road trip for Perth, with stops in Melbourne, Cairns and the Adelaide Entertainment Centre, while the Sixers had four days to recover from their drought-breaking Christmas Eve win over the Bullets.

But John Rillie’s charges showed no signs of fatigue, leading by as much as 30 points as they blew Adelaide out of the water with a stunning 28-9 third quarter to make it nine wins from their past 11 matches.

Cotton was the catalyst, strengthening his case for MVP honours with an equal game-high 24 points, including four triples.

The Wildcats improved to 11-7 to tighten their grip on second spot, while the Sixers remain anchored on the bottom of the ladder with a 5-12 record.

Adelaide trailed by six points at halftime before being bulldozed in the third, Isaac Humphries with a team-high 24 points, DJ Vasiljevic quiet with nine points in his 100th NBL game.

GUNS BLAZING

The Wildcats opened with all guns blazing, the visitors nailing their first five shots from the floor as well as their first two free throws, with Kristian Doolittle leading the charge with 12 first-quarter points on 5-from-6 shooting.

A shootout didn’t suit the 36ers, who sat bottom of the ladder in scoring heading into the contest, with an average of just over 85 points per game.

But the scoring outlook has been brighter under Scott Ninnis, Adelaide averaging 12 more points per game in the caretaker coach’s first three matches in charge.

That upward trend continued early, the home side registering its highest first-quarter score of the season to trail by five points at the first break.

BRYCE GOES BANG!

Cotton had a relatively quiet first half by his lofty standards, with seven points at the main break, but the MVP contender blew the game wide open with a devastating burst to open the third quarter.

He had 11 points in the first five minutes, including back-to-back triples, and had 20 points by three-quarter time.

The Wildcats drained six three-pointers in the third-quarter blitz, to be shooting 10-from-18 from long range at the last break compared to Adelaide’s 3-from-18 at just 16 per cent from outside the arc.

After showing promising signs in the first half, the Sixers just couldn’t buy a bucket, registering just nine points for the term to trail by 25 points going into the last quarter.

Cotton had a scary moment in the final minute when he tumbled to the floor in a tangle with Alex Starling, but he jumped up to see out the game on the bench.

SARR SLIPS UP

Hearts were in mouths when exciting Next Star Alex Sarr slipped on an advertising decal in the first quarter and immediately clutched at his left knee in clear pain.

The French teen quickly allayed fears he had sustained a serious injury, staying on the floor after being helped to his feet.

The top-end NBA draft prospect had nine points on perfect 4-from-4 shooting at halftime and finished with 12.