Son of gun's verdict on dad's career-high night

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American import Josh Oduro ($277,000)'s two-year-old son, Gabriel, is a hard marker.

His father had just put up 28 points, his NBL27 career-high, and 14 rebounds (four offensive) on 11-for-15 shooting, including 6-for-9 at the line, with two steals in Melbourne United’s dominant 120-92 NBL27 Round 8 win against Brisbane at John Cain Arena.

Gabriel sat on his father’s lap in the post-game press conference and became shy when asked: “How did Dad play tonight?”

His 26-year-old dad, with a laugh, answered for him: “Not good enough. Not impressed.”

United won their fourth straight and moved to 7-5 and into third while the wounded Bullets dropped to 6-6 in sixth.

“It's good, like you said, four wins in a row, but coach laid out our goals,” Oduro added.

“We all have our own goals, and four wins at this point in the season really isn't what we're looking for.

We just want to continue to go to practice, stack days and continue to gel.

“I think our ceiling is still really high.”

NBA gap-year guard Cole Anthony ($300,000), sanctioned by Basketball Australia after back-to-back blowups at referees, responded with what can only be described as elite performance.

Anthony went 13-for-14 from the field, the most accurate night of NBL27 by any player with 10 or more field goals. He finished with 32 points, three rebounds, six assists and a steal in 20:27 minutes.

“I love to see Cole at his best,” Oduro added.

“I love to see him passionate. Sometimes there's a little bit of friction with other people, but it's okay.

“I've got Cole's back no matter what.

“You look at him today; I think that's exactly what we want from him.

“I think he's going to continue to do it.”

Brisbane head coach Will Weaver’s injury crisis is set to worsen after Jaylin Williams ($277,000) played just 10 minutes before leaving the floor with a right shoulder injury. The Bullets are already without Max Mackinnon ($200,000), Jacob Holt ($176,300), Sam McDaniel ($127,600) and import point guard Arnas Velicka ($277,000).

"I don't. Didn't look good,” Weaver answered when asked about Williams’ status.

"I'm particularly concerned about all our players' health, but in the middle of a game it's not like I have the opportunity to really dig into the details because it's my obligation to focus on finishing out the game.

"So I hope to get some updates later tonight or tomorrow, but I don't have anything for you now."

United jumped on the Bullets early, leading 29-17 at the first break, and the Bullets were on the back foot almost straight away, behind for 38:48 of the game.

"We're all human beings,” Weaver said.

“We all suffer from the same cognitive biases around what the last three outcomes have been and it feeling like momentum or it feeling like a trend.

"Very often you go back and watch the film, and you're like, 'Oh yeah, that dude made two hard shots in a row, and the crowd went crazy, and it felt like an avalanche’.

"Or vice versa, you get a wide-open shot, and you miss it, and everybody's head drops for a second.

"So I don't put a ton of stock into this, like we're great in the first or we struggle in that part.

"What I look for is, are our behaviours consistent and is our approach within the bounds of the patterns that we've established as a group that work best for us?

"In the third quarter in particular, there was a minute there where it looked like it was about to go out to 30, and these guys clawed their ass off to get it back to, I think, eight or 10, and seven.

"That tells you everything about how these guys are wired.

"This guy [Mawot Mag] I think, is particularly emblematic of never say die.

"He makes a shot, he misses a shot, he turns it over, he has an assist, and he's just full speed all the time.

"Which is why he's been such a huge part of our team since he joined us and why I was really excited for him to get to play back here in Melbourne tonight."

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NBL27

Melbourne United vs Brisbane Bullets | Round 8 Highlights

Watch the highlights as Melbourne United take on the Brisbane Bullets in Round 8 of NBL27 on November 7, 2026.

What you need to know

• Melbourne United beat the Brisbane Bullets 120-92 at John Cain Arena on Saturday, November 7, 2026 in Round 8 of NBL27, their fourth win in a row. United are 7-5 and Brisbane are 6-6.
• United won three of the four quarters, 29-17, 33-31 and 37-19, and Brisbane won the third 25-21. Brisbane's only lead was 2-0, and after they cut it to 80-73 with 50 seconds left in the third, United went on a 13-0 run to lead 93-73 early in the fourth.
• Cole Anthony ($300,000) top-scored with 32 points on 13-from-14 in 20 minutes, and Lat Mayen ($69,000) led Brisbane with 15 on 6-from-7, including 3-from-4 from three.
• Brisbane made 18 threes to United's eight, a 30-point edge from deep, but United made 34-from-47 inside the arc to Brisbane's 15-from-35, a 38-point edge on twos.
• United also went 28-from-35 at the line to Brisbane's 8-from-13, a 20-point gap, and won the rebounds 49-23.

Milestones & Moments

• United shot 42-from-64 (65.6 per cent), the best field-goal percentage by any team in the 57 games of NBL27 so far. Their 120 is also their highest score of the season and the most Brisbane have conceded.
• Cole Anthony ($300,000) went 13-from-14 from the field, the most accurate night of NBL27 by any player with 10 or more field goals.
• Mitch Norton ($160,600) played his 406th NBL game and moved to 2,940 career NBL points, 60 short of 3,000.
• Fabijan Krslovic ($172,300) played his 246th NBL game and moved to 958 career NBL points, 42 short of 1,000.
• Luke Travers ($292,900) played his 145th NBL game, five short of 150.
• Shea Ili ($175,300) played his 294th NBL game, six short of 300.
• Sam Waardenburg ($277,500) played his 101st NBL game.
• Joe Ingles ($300,000) moved to 431 career NBL assists.
• Tyrell Harrison ($336,100) moved to 1,476 career NBL points and 1,064 career NBL rebounds.

Melbourne United

• Cole Anthony ($300,000) top-scored with 32 points, six assists and three rebounds on 13-from-14, including 6-from-6 at the line, in 20 minutes, with 12 of his points in the second quarter.
• Josh Oduro ($277,000) had 28 points, his NBL27 high, and 14 rebounds (four offensive) on 11-from-15, including 6-from-9 at the line, with two steals.
• Tom Wilson ($69,000) scored 13 off the bench in nine minutes without a miss, 3-from-3 from three and 4-from-4 at the line, with two of his threes in the last two minutes of the first quarter.
• Malith Machar ($69,000) scored 11 on 4-from-5, including 2-from-2 from three, with 10 of his points in the first half.
• Chris Goulding ($188,900) had seven points off the bench on 1-from-4 and 5-from-5 at the line, and finished plus-17.
• Shea Ili ($175,300) had seven points on 2-from-4, including 1-from-1 from three, and 2-from-2 at the line in 13 minutes off the bench, his three making it 17-4 in the first quarter.
• Sam Waardenburg ($277,500) had two points, eight rebounds and four assists on 1-from-2, and finished plus-20, second only to Anthony's plus-22.
• United shot 42-from-64 from the field, 8-from-17 from three and 28-from-35 at the line, with 49 rebounds, 25 assists and 17 turnovers.

Brisbane Bullets

• Lat Mayen ($69,000) top-scored with 15 points off the bench on 6-from-7, including 3-from-4 from three, in 26 minutes.
• Nate Hinton ($277,000) had 13 points, four steals and three assists on 6-from-14, including 1-from-4 from three, and missed all three of his free throws.
• Mitch Norton ($160,600) scored 13 off the bench on 5-from-8, including 3-from-5 from three, in 13 minutes, with 11 of his points in the first half.
• Taine Murray ($99,700) had 12 points on 3-from-9, all three makes from three, and 3-from-3 at the line, and finished minus-35, the worst mark in the game.
• Harry Rouhliadeff ($69,000) had nine points on 3-from-9, all three makes from three, with six of them in the fourth quarter.
• Mawot Mag ($73,300) had eight points on 2-from-5 and 4-from-4 at the line, with two steals.
• Raul Neto ($277,000) had six points and a team-high six assists on 2-from-7, both makes from three.
• Brisbane shot 33-from-77 from the field, 18-from-42 from three and 8-from-13 at the line, with 23 rebounds, 24 assists and 13 turnovers.