JackJumpers dig deep to snap NBL losing slide

Jordon Crawford has helped steer the JackJumpers to an eight-point victory in Brisbane. (Dave Hunt/AAP PHOTOS)

Tasmania have dug deep, with two late triples from both Craig Sword and Jordon Crawford enabling the NBL champions to power past Brisbane 87-79.

The JackJumpers, who arrived at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre on Saturday in last place having lost their previous three games, they held the Bullets to nine points in the first 13 minutes on Saturday night.

They led by as many as 19 but Bullets captain Mitch Norton (20 points, four assists, three steals) lifted his team and had them leading by five with seven minutes to go.

But the JackJumpers responded strongly and even though they had only made five three-pointers up to that point, two quick ones from Crawford (16 points, five assists) and another double by Sword (eight points, four rebounds) ensured they prevailed by eight.

Tasmania came into the contest after two strong first halves in losses to the Sydney Kings and Adelaide 36ers, and raced to another 13-1 start.

The JackJumpers were leading 28-9 early in the second period thanks to an Anthony Drmic (seven points) three ball and the visitors had all the momentum.

Brisbane did manage to get back within 10 by halftime with unlikely sources Norton, Tohi Smith-Milner (eight points) and Jarred Bairstow (seven points, six rebounds) combining for 21 of their 32 points.

The game then changed completely coming out of the main break with the Bullets scoring 30 points in the third quarter after registering just 32 in the first two.

Brisbane were up three at three-quarter time thanks to a late Keandre Cook (eight points) triple and then Norton's second three had his team leading by five with seven minutes to play.

Mitch Norton of the Bullets.
Mitch Norton had a fruitful night personally in a beaten Bullets side.

A couple of three balls to Crawford and another to Sword eventually proved the difference as Tasmania improved to 3-5 with the win.

Majok Deng stepped up for 16 points and six rebounds, Milton Doyle 15 points, six boards and four assists, and Will Magnay 13 points and nine rebounds.

"It's nice to get over 80 points, which is a relief, but our defence has been remaining solid for five or six of these games," Tasmania coach Scott Roth said.

"We had contributions across the board with everyone earning their minutes out there. We didn’t drop our heads and just kept on fighting."

Casey Prather also had 11 points and four rebounds for the Bullets, with Josh Bannan providing nine points and nine boards and Tyrell Harrison seven points and 11 rebounds.

Bullets coach Justin Schueller lamented not being able to close the deal.

"We end up with 79 and 70 of those over three quarters, and the difference in the start with this one was that I felt we had reasonable looks," he said.

"We felt pretty comfortable holding them to 20 in that first quarter with the opportunity to fight back.

"We showed that for the rest of the way. The frustrating part is going to be when we look back at the missed executions at critical times."

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