The return of Sam Mackinnon may have dominated the pre-match hype but NBL MVP candidate Ebi Ere stole the limelight as the Bullets blew away South Dragons 132-101 in Brisbane.

A big cheer greeted Mackinnon when the Brisbane skipper emerged late in the opening quarter in his first NBL game since undergoing knee surgery in November.

As Mackinnon blew off the cobwebs, Ere blew away the Dragons with 45 points - his highest haul for Brisbane.

The Bullets took the court without workhorse Dusty Rychart who was bed-ridden with suspected tonsillitis.

But it was the visitors who were soon feeling green around the gills as Ere lit up with CJ Bruton (20 points, five assists).

Second-last South Dragons (4-17) have now lost eight straight games and have never beaten the third-placed Bullets (15-7).

Ere showed why he is in a race with Melbourne's Chris Anstey to take out the NBL's top player prize with a silky display that included 9-13 three-point shooting.

Bruton didn't take a shot in almost 10 minutes court-time in the first quarter but fed off Ere to finish the game with all guns blazing, hitting six from nine outside the arc and 7-10 from the field.

However, Bullets coach Joey Wright was probably most pleased with the long awaited return of reigning NBL MVP Mackinnon who had not played since Brisbane's November 10 win over Perth.

The Boomers captain was solid with nine points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals but Wright was not expecting miracles from a man who had only completed his first full training session on Thursday since surgery.

He clearly steadied a Bullets outfit that had wobbled with two losses in their last three games during a tough four day stretch.

Despite Mackinnon's appearance, the Dragons went on an early 9-0 run to cut the deficit to one point before that man Ere helped the home team to a 27-22 buffer at the first break.

The Bullets fired in the second term, piling on an incredible 43 second quarter points with Ere helping himself to 20 by half-time to blow the scoreline out to 70-52 by the main break.

The third quarter belonged to Bruton as he wracked up 6-8 three point shooting by three-quarter time to ensure the Bullets led 101-73 at the final interval.

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