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Matthew Dellavedova (right) battles Brisbane’s Nathan Sobey.Credit:Getty Images

A three-point play from Brisbane import Lamar Patterson pulled his side within two points and on the next defensive play White pressured a Bullets shot to miss and then came up with a block on centre Jack Salt after he grabbed the rebound. United recovered the ball.

But there was more drama to come. Melbourne centre Jo Lual-Aquil missed two free throws with seven seconds to play,allowing Bullets star Nathan Sobey to run the length of the court,but his reverse lay-up missed. A contested shot from Anthony Drmic also failed to drop as time expired.

Patterson had a game-high 21 points and Sobey had 14 of his 18 in the first half. Dellavedova was best with 16 points and four assists,while White had 14 points and two blocks.

“We got a massive shot from Delly to re-establish that lead,” United coach Dean Vickerman said.

“They had a play to finish it off but we were lucky enough to come up the rebound,we didn’t grab enough of those giving up 22 offensive boards as big[Chuanxing] Liu and Jack Salt were a problem for us.”

Dellavedova was also at the centre of what appeared to be an unnecessary unsportsmanlike foul call in the final quarter after he had extended his arm and lightly bumped Patterson on his arm after the pair had tangled under the basket.

A video review saw the play changed to an offensive foul,stripping Melbourne of the ball and resulting in a Brisbane basket.

The calling of unsportsmanlike fouls has come under the microscope around the NBL after some contentious calls this season which have led to star players such as Sobey and Sydney’s Xavier Cooks being ejected from games.

“I didn’t really see the Delly play until it came up on the[big screen],” Vickerman said.

“He’s given Lamar a little bump when he was talking,it was something[that came] from Lamar giving a little push off when he was driving to the basket.

“I’m certainly glad they downgraded it,I would have liked to see it downgraded further to nothing because we were on a pretty good four-on-three fast break going the other way and for them to get the ball back and score off that potentially was a game-changer.”

Bullets coach James Duncan declined to comment on the play.

White’s return is seven games in after he ruptured his Achilles tendon midway through last season and he’s helped spark United in its winning run.

White said he still had more improvement to come despite playing the whole last quarter.

“A big part for me was mental,understanding that it was going to take time to work out how I’m going to best help the team and contribute to winning games,” he said.

“To be able to come up at a bit more significant time and make plays to help us get over the line was great but I’m not trying to overthink it all too much.

“This all still feels fresh to me and there’s a long way to go.”

Vickerman playfully followed White’s answer with his own assessment of the former Duke University forward.

“He still has a long way to go,he missed three free throws tonight,” Vickerman said with a laugh.

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