The Brisbane Bullets have defended their character in the best possible way with an upset 100-96 NBL win at home against the Perth Wildcats.
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The Bullets reacted purposefully to a barb from one of their own, Adam Gibson, who earlier in the week labelled the team's last outing as "soft".
In Gibson's 150th game for the club he first joined as a rookie in 2005, his teammates ensured a memorable milestone night.
They found a way to dull the sparkle of Wildcats star Bryce Cotton who was restricted to 17 points.
Terrico White had a stellar 19 points for the Wildcats, giving the Bullets an anxious last minute after they had trailed by as much as 13 in the last quarter.
When Rhys Vague made a three-point jumper with 13 seconds to go the Breakers were down by 98-96 but Mitchell Norton's foul on Cameron Gliddon and two successful free throws sealed the deal for the home side.
Forward Cameron Bairstow's 18 points, including two big threes, was a highlight for the Bullets, but more importantly the spread of contributions would have pleased coach Andrej Lemanis.
Five Bullets made it into double figures, centre Matthew Hodgson stood up to the visitors and guard Gliddon hit two vital threes in the final quarter when his team was under pressure.
There was clear improvement from Brisbane, and there had to be after their passive last performance, a 15-point pounding by the Wildcats in Perth.
The spirit was evident on the glass where the Bullets shared the workload between their big and small men and out-rebounded Perth 16-14 at halftime.
That translated to a five-point lead for the hosts despite a 13-point first-half injection from White.
Brisbane guard Jason Cadee said the win had restored some much needed self-belief to the players.
"You can talk about having belief in yourself but it's a matter of going and doing it," Cadee said.
"We were very disappointed with the way we played last week in Perth, and the week before against Cairns.
"We really locked in this week and we wanted to show that's not who we are."
Perth's Terrico White had 19 points for the Wildcats who gave the Bullets an anxious last minute after trailing by as much as 13 in the last quarter.
"To let a team like that get its energy going early in the game, you're getting them involved," lamented Wildcats coach Trevor Gleeson.
"They were pretty much getting anything they wanted early. We weren't good enough for long enough."
Australian Associated Press
