NBL Finals Series Heading to deciding Fifth Game

The NBL Finals are headed to a deciding fifth game after Melbourne United escaped with a two-point victory in game four.

The NBL Finals series is going to a deciding fifth game. Three of the first four games have been decided by five points or less including game four which was only a two-point Melbourne victory which has fans excited for what should be a close game five battle. 

Games one through three see Tasmania Take 2-1 Lead 

The NBL Finals series began last Sunday at John Cain Arena in Melbourne. The host Melbourne United side started the series out hot blowing out their Tasmanian counterparts 104-81. 
 
Game two was a far different story as playing host, Tasmania brought a far higher level of play and compete level. The JackJumper’s came back from a three-point deficit heading into the fourth quarter to win the game 82-77.  
 
Then came the pivotal third game. Again, Tasmania trailed heading into the fourth, this time by seven. The JackJumper’s slowly clawed back and then came Milton Doyle and Jack McVeigh’s heroics.  
 
Trailing by one with just six seconds remaining Doyle got a steal and head manned the ball to McVeigh. With just a few seconds on the clock, McVeigh pulled up from just steps inside halfcourt and knocked down a three for the win.  

Game Four goes down to the Wire 

Up 2-1, The JackJumpers were on home soil with a chance at winning the NBL Championship.  
 
It was a quality start for the home side, quickly taking an 8-2 lead. However, their offense hit a bit of a stalemate during the middle portion of the opening quarter as Melbourne came back and tied it up at eights.  
 
The rest of the quarter was tightly contested and by its end, the JackJumpers were ahead 20-17.  
 
After going up 24-18 early in the second, Melbourne turned up their intensity going on a 9-0 run to take a 27-24 lead. Tasmania however was not flustered and came right back with a 10-0 run of their own to take a seven-point lead.  
 
They couldn’t stretch the gap any further however as Melbourne stormed back and went into halftime up 41-39.  
 
As was the status quo in this game, the third quarter was a back-and-forth affair. The JackJumpers evened the game at 43 a piece at the eight-minute mark and took the lead just 30 seconds later.  
 
They played with a small lead for the next few minutes before a Chris Goulding three for Melbourne tied it up at 55-55. A Matthew Dellavedova jumper with five seconds left gave Melbourne United a one-point lead going into the fourth.  
 
Melbourne quickly took a five-point lead just a couple of minutes in. After another two minutes of gametime, the JackJumpers had cut the deficit to just one.  
 
With two and a half minutes to play Tasmania held an 86-81 lead with the championship nearly in their grasp. Unfortunately for the JackJumpers, they wouldn’t score another point the whole game.  
 
With 11 seconds left and down by one, Matthew Dellavedova found space and laid the ball up to take the lead.  
 
McVeigh again had a chance to play hero with a three pointer with just seconds on the clock but this time was unable to sink it.  
 
Melbourne United got the 88-86 win and forced a fifth game.  

Game Five Information 

Game five will take place at John Cain Arena in Melbourne on Sunday at 4pm AEDT.  
 
The game is already sold out with a crowd of over 10,000 set to attend what is shaping up to be an extremely exciting finish to a great year for the NBL.  
 
Melbourne will have the majority of fans behind them but Tasmania has already won once in Melbourne so the matchup could really go either way.  

The end of the NBL season is upon us with just one game remaining in the final’s series. Melbourne United and Tasmania have treated the fans to an all-time final already and game five should be expected to go no differently with both teams set to give everything they have.