Bullets new NBL road kings

Brisbane have jumped to fifth on the NBL ladder after a run of away victories.

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Perrin Burford impressed in the Brisbane Bullets' last two games. (AAP)

Brisbane have emerged as the new road kings of the NBL, as the pacesetters stumbled at home in the latest round.

Victories at Queensland rivals Cairns (75-74) and at leaders Perth (82-76) gave the Bullets three straight away wins and lifted them two places to fifth.

American forward Perrin Buford topscored for Brisbane in each game, notching 17 against Cairns and 24 against Perth, where the Bullets scored 33 in the first quarter.

Perth struggled without their injured guard and standout defender Damian Martin.

Slumping second-placed New Zealand Breakers suffered a dose of the home game blues, falling 90-75 to Adelaide.

Third-placed Melbourne joined the band of happy travellers with a 84-78 win at Illawarra, with import Josh Boone missing just one of his 11 field goal attempts in accumulating a 20-point haul.

Melbourne's joy was tempered by a dislocated elbow to star forward Casey Prather, who United coach Dean Vickerman expected to lose for at least a couple of weeks.

The only home team to win any of the five games played over the round were last placed Sydney, who overturned an early 14-point on Sunday.

They rallied to beat Cairns 88-69 to record their biggest win of the season and just their fourth victory in 16 matches.

Brisbane have battled injuries and a tough December draw, which has seen them play games in Adelaide Auckland, Sydney, Cairns and Perth in addition to one at home.

"We haven't had our contracted 11 together for a single game, so it's been a challenge for us to find our rhythm," Bullets' coach Andrej Lemanis said.

"But with the injuries, we've had a couple of longer term ones that have meant this group has stayed together for a period of seven or eight games and has been able to build a rhythm.

"But the other thing I'm really proud of with this group we didn't use our schedule as an excuse.

The Breakers have dropped four of their last five games and were outscored 34-11 by Adelaide in the final quarter.

"The way we finished that game is a sign of how we've been the last few weeks, just a little bit of softness about us and accountability I think is lacking right now," Breakers' coach Paul Henare said.

"There's definitely no panic, but at the same time there's a time for honesty and accountability right now that I think has slipped."


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Source: AAP



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