The Brisbane Bullets’ horror NBL season has become even worse with ex-NBA player Alex Ducas injured during their 98-66 thrashing from Melbourne United.
The 25-year-old Australian wing went up the tunnel with an apparent leg injury during Wednesday’s second quarter in Bendigo and did not return.
Ducas watched from the sidelines as the last-placed Bullets dropped a 14th game from 15 starts.
They have lost to every NBL team since that dismal stretch began in the second week of November, bar Tasmania, who they have not played since beforehand.
United, meanwhile, have claimed back-to-back wins for the first time since November as they look to emerge from a slump that had threatened their post-season hopes.
Finn Delany drives to the basket during Melbourne United’s clash with Brisbane Bullets. Photo by Graham Denholm/Getty Images
Tyson Walker (17 points, five assists) led the scoring for United, who have jumped Sydney into third spot on the ladder with a month left in the regular season.
They have also moved into second place on the ladder for the Ignite Cup, the NBL’s new in-season tournament.
United began the game on an 11-3 run that started with local boy Dash Daniels and ended in a tip-in dunk from Jesse Edwards, forcing a Bullets timeout.
The Bullets hurt themselves when the game was close; they missed six of their last seven field-goal attempts for the opening quarter to fall behind 10 points at the first change.
Brisbane also only hit five of 14 free-throw attempts for a first half that ended with a spectacular buzzer-beater from United’s Tyson Walker at the half-court.
Walker’s second half-court basket from as many games put United up 21 points at the main change and effectively ended the contest.
Had Milton Doyle not bungled an audacious attempt at a trick shot to dunk in the final minutes, and Kyle Bowen not missed an early open lay-up, the win would’ve finished as United’s biggest of the season – currently 35 points.
Jacob Holt was a shining light for the Bullets against United with 23 points on nine of 10 shooting.
But Ducas’s injury compounded a season to forget for long-time strugglers the Bullets, who lost imports Casey Prather and Lamar Patterson to season-ending injuries earlier in the campaign.
A failed stint for fellow American Jaylen Adams and Stu Lash’s equally underwhelming cameo as head coach have also worked against the Bullets.