Breakers Begin Blitz in Darwin

Written for nbl.com.au by Chris Pike

While Rayan Rupert was exciting for the Sky Sport Breakers, it was Gisborne born Aron Baynes who stole the show in his first showing in Brisbane Bullets colours as he led his team to a first up win at the NBL Blitz in Darwin.

French Next Star Rupert was on fire early for the Breakers on Sunday evening in their opening clash at the Blitz in Darwin and his overall performance did nothing to diminish his NBA lottery hopes, but Baynes and his Bullets proved too much to end up winning 81-69.

Baynes made an immediate impact with his ferocity ending Tom Abercrombie's night early as he delivered an accidental blow, but his unstoppable presence in the paint, soft touch and then leadership on defence was inspirational.

Added to what Baynes provided in his first hit out in Bullets colours was the first appearance of the pre-season of fellow guns Nathan Sobey and Tyler Johnson. James Duncan has his team in good shape now less than a fortnight out from the opening of NBL23.

Baynes finished the night with 14 points and six rebounds on 5/10 shooting as he soaks up his return to professional basketball after the career-threatening injury he suffered at the Tokyo Olympics on the back of his 576-game NBA career.

Johnson also brings 376 games of NBA experience to the Bullets and he had 14 points on 5/7 shooting with Sobey showing good signs in the first half with seven points despite only playing nine minutes.

As important as that trio will be, the Bullets look a well drilled unit already and a lot of that has to do with their NBL1 championship winners.

Devondrick Walker (five points, three assists), Tanner Krebs (three rebounds), DJ Mitchell (12 points, three rebounds), Jason Cadee (six points, three boards) and Harry Froling (nine points, four assists) all had their moments as did Gorjok Gak with seven points, eight rebounds and six assists.

Rupert is looking to follow in the footsteps of Ousmane Dieng from last season at the Breakers and all the signs were exciting on Sunday as he finished with 12 points and three steals on 4/8 shooting.

Tom Vodanovich is back home with the Breakers this season after playing in Sydney's championship and was strong with 15 points and five rebounds with fellow veteran local Rob Loe doing well for 10 points and five boards.

Jarrell Brantley also warmed up for 10 points and eight rebounds with Barry Brown contributing nine points and four boards.

Every Australian basketball fan's eyes would have lit up when Aron Baynes scored inside early in the game to bring a beaming smile to his face before converting the and-one for Brisbane.

But it was the Breakers who had the better of the start and it French Next Star Rayan Rupert the shining light. He scored nine points in no time coming off the bench showing his ability to not only finish at the rim, but also step out to hit the long ball.

New Zealand went on a 12-0 run and then a couple of strong flushes from Rob Loe, and a three ball from Cam Gliddon saw them lead 28-18 by quarter-time.

The Bullets turned the tide to open the second quarter and it was Baynes setting the tone with a couple of powerful inside finishes where he let the Breakers defenders know they couldn’t stop him.

There were then even more encouraging signs for the Bullets when Nathan Sobey hit five quick points and new import Tyler Johnson hit seven of his own as part of a 14-0 run that turned an eight-point deficit into a six-point lead at the main break.

It was more of the same to open the second half with Baynes continuing to be the most dominant presence on the floor. He even knocked down a triple to top off another run of eight consecutive points to see Brisbane's lead grow to 14.

New Zealand was able to more than halve that deficit on the back of three-pointers from Tom Vodanovich and Rupert, but still Brisbane was up nine by three quarter-time.

The Bullets then put the game out of reach thanks to a 12-2 streak in the fourth quarter which included impressive finishes from Johnson and a dunk from development player Lual Diing.

New Zealand had some bright moments late including triples from Barry Brown and Brantley, but Brisbane impressed in the 12-point win.

Day 4 at the NBL Blitz in Darwin on Monday will see the Adelaide 36ers play the Tasmania JackJumpers first up followed by the Perth Wildcats taking on the South East Melbourne Phoenix.

The Bullets are next in action on Tuesday against the Cairns Taipans while the Breakers face the Illawarra Hawks first up on Tuesday evening.

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL BLITZ – DAY 3

BRISBANE BULLETS 81 (Johnson 14, Baynes 14, Mitchell 12)
NEW ZEALAND BREAKERS 69 (Vodanovich 15, Rupert 12, Loe 10, Brantley 10)

BOX SCORE