\u201cI\u2019m having a hard time on the foul count,\u201d Lash said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur guys are not getting the same level of respect as others in this league do \u2013 36 to 11.<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/poster-fallback.png\"\/)
<\/p>\n
\u201cThey hold, they grab, [centre] Tyrell [Harrison] gets no calls.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is what it is, but there has to be some explanations.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lash has confirmed he will follow up the foul discrepancy with the league this week.<\/p>\n
Brisbane Bullets coach Stu Lash was irate with the physicality afforded to Melbourne United players by the referees in Saturday night\u2019s 99-93 loss at John Cain Arena.Source: FOX SPORTS<\/p>\n
The stats would suggest the Bullets sit in the middle of the pack when it comes to the decision makers, ranked fifth on both fouls committed and fouls drawn.<\/p>\n
Asked if it was a trend in Bullets games, Lash responded: \u201cPretty ongoing, but tonight 36 to 11, it\u2019s a wide disparity, very wide disparity\u201d.<\/p>\n
Responding to Lash\u2019s questions over his team\u2019s tactics, victorious United coach Dean Vickerman said he wants his team to play with an edge and was an advocate for a physical NBL, within reason.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to play with a physicality, but if we\u2019re stepping over the line, we expect to be called for it,\u201d Vickerman said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we had one possession where we had three fouls called in that one possession.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think our league is encouraging physicality right now and hopefully we\u2019re good enough to do it the right way.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt times you get rewarded for really attacking the paint and that was part of our success tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n
Taipans still last as Phoenix run riot | 00:59<\/p>\n
Vickerman was \u201creally excited\u201d to see Ili made a successful return to United\u2019s line up from a hamstring injury, playing 14 minutes for 10 crucial points, including 8\/9 from the free throw line.<\/p>\n
New recruit Milton Doyle exploded for a United-best 28 points on 11\/18 shooting to go with six rebounds and four assists.<\/p>\n
It was the first time this season that Vickerman had his full squad together, but one lingering concern will keep him up at night, their lax defending of the three-point line.<\/p>\n
While United converted just 6\/22 threes on the night, the Bullets were lethal from long range with 15\/35, leading to a whopping 39-point fourth quarter from the visitors.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think we\u2019re defending the three-point line as well as we can right now,\u201d Vickerman said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m a little hot on that from what I\u2019ve felt in the last little period of the season.\u201d<\/p>\n
DOYLE LEADS UNITED PAST BULLETS<\/p>\n
American import guard Milton Doyle and Melbourne United just love to beat the Brisbane Bullets.<\/p>\n
Noted Bullet dominator Doyle was instrumental in United\u2019s 99-93 win over a desperately undermanned but gutsy Bullets at John Cain Arena on Saturday night.<\/p>\n
It was too close for comfort for United, who had to fight back from a shock 12-point first-quarter deficit before staving off a late fourth quarter challenge to register their 15th win from their past 16 games against the Bullets.<\/p>\n
Trailing by 18 at three quarter time, the never-say-die Bullets incredibly cut the deficit to just three with a minute to go, with Mitch Norton (19 points) and Lamar Patterson (18) lighting up the scoreboard in the fourth.<\/p>\n
“We will pray for him” – Lash on Prather | 02:32<\/p>\n
But to the relief of the home fans, United steadied to close out the game.<\/p>\n
The best three scoring games in Doyle\u2019s NBL career have all come against the Bullets.<\/p>\n
The 32-year-old produced his best scoring game in United colours with a season-high 28 points on 11\/18 shooting from the field, six rebounds and four assists in a dominant performance.<\/p>\n
A middle of the road side looking to close the gap on a title contender, the last thing the Bullets could afford was to lose premier scorer Casey Prather to a season-ending knee injury on Thursday night.<\/p>\n
The departure of star guard Jaylen Adams followed and it has left the Bullets unsettled.<\/p>\n
But you have to credit the attitude of the visitors who not only kept it from turning into a blow out that most predicted but made it a nervous outing for the ladder leading United, who improved to 11-2 on the season.<\/p>\n
Bullets centre Tyrell Harrison produced a lion-hearted display with a double-double 16 points and 11 rebounds.<\/p>\n
36ers 2nd after ending losing streak | 01:00<\/p>\n
Bullets fire early<\/p>\n
The Bullets came out of the blocks scorching hot, opening up a 19-7 lead, knocking down three of their first four three-point attempts.<\/p>\n
They were up for the challenge physically with Taine Murray throwing imposing United big man Jesse Edwards, who had 14 points, to the floor to set the tone for the visitors.<\/p>\n
The tide of the quarter turned on the back of two gutsy three-point plays from Dash Daniels and Shea Ili.<\/p>\n
Shea\u2019s back<\/p>\n
Ili, returning from a hamstring injury, came into the game midway through the first period to thunderous applause.<\/p>\n
The two-time reigning NBL defensive player of the year is a crowd favourite.<\/p>\n
He played 14 minutes for 10 points, including 8\/9 from the free throw line, which was crucial late.<\/p>\n
Damaging Doyle<\/p>\n
With Milton Doyle starting to take over, United erased a 12-point deficit with a level the score at 24-piece at quarter time.<\/p>\n
A 23-7 United run prompted Bullets coach Stu Lash to hit the panic button with a clear focus on tightening up the defence in the time out.<\/p>\n
The time out didn\u2019t work as United brought out the showtime moves to quickly build a double-digit lead.<\/p>\n
Doyle was as active as he has been all season.<\/p>\n
The Bullets stuck with United until half time, trailing 47-38, but an 8-0 United run to start the third, including triples to Tyson Walker and Finn Delany, blew the game out the water.<\/p>\n
Another three from Walker and United\u2019s lead was out to 20 midway through the third.<\/p>\n
Not going away<\/p>\n
But the Bullets weren\u2019t ready to wave the white flag.<\/p>\n
Patterson caught fire in the fourth and the travelling side somehow cut the deficit to just fove with 1.15 to go.<\/p>\n
When Norton drained a three, it was just three points the difference with under a minute to go.<\/p>\n
NBL SCOREBOARD<\/p>\n
Melbourne United 99 (Doyle 28 Edwards 14 Goulding 13) d Brisbane Bullets 93 (Norton 19 Patterson 18 Harrison 16).<\/p>\n
At John Cain Arena, Melbourne.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Brisbane Bullets coach Stu Lash was irate with the physicality afforded to Melbourne United players by the referees…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":286183,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[574],"tags":[165202,64,63,726,165190,97612,165201,68101,142014,15912,9033,12183,165193,165197,97613,165191,4517,17341,72497,97614,163544,8084,165199,97616,8244,23596,165192,165195,41660,165194,85,165196,160865,23055,165198,68105,165200],"class_list":["post-286182","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-basketball","tag-american-import-guard","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-basketball","tag-bullets-centre","tag-casey-prather","tag-crowd-favourite","tag-dash-daniels","tag-dean-vickerman","tag-decision-makers","tag-defensive-player","tag-dominant-performance","tag-double-digit-lead","tag-fight-back","tag-finn-delany","tag-first-quarter-deficit","tag-hamstring-injury","tag-home-fans","tag-jaylen-adams","tag-jesse-edwards","tag-lamar-patterson","tag-lance-jenkinson","tag-lashes-refs","tag-milton-doyle","tag-panic-button","tag-quarter-time","tag-road-side","tag-scoring-games","tag-season-ending-knee-injury","tag-showtime-moves","tag-sports","tag-three-point-line","tag-throw-line","tag-title-contender","tag-travelling-side","tag-tyson-walker","tag-wide-disparity"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/286182","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=286182"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/286182\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/286183"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=286182"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=286182"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=286182"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}