The horror run of the New Zealand Breakers continued on Saturday night as they slumped to outright third in the Australian National Basketball League courtesy of a 96-89 loss to the Melbourne Tigers.
The result of the fiery match in Melbourne followed Thursday's 103-85 loss to the same opponents in Auckland and leaves the Breakers needing a strong finish from their remaining five games to claim a crucial top-two finish.
Momentum is firmly against them. Having led after Christmas, the Auckland-based franchise has crashed to five losses in six games in the new year.
Improvement will be needed by Thursday, when the Breakers host the championship-leading South Dragons.
As with their clash 48 hours earlier, the Breakers struggled to cope with Melbourne's defensive heat in the second half, when they scored just 38 points.
Up 51-46 at halftime, the Breakers allowed the Tigers to surge clear and lead 91-79 before a late burst of their own lifted them to within four points of the lead.
The bright news for the Breakers was that guard C.J. Bruton looked over his ankle injury, scoring a game-high 29 points and making three steals, while Kirk Penney hit 23 points. Penney was hot and cold, however, being held scoreless for almost two quarters after a scintillating 17-point first half.
Chris Anstey was Melbourne's star performer with 20 points - 11 rebounds, three blocks and four steals - to make coach Al Westover's 150th NBL match as coach a memorable one.
Cameos from Ebi Ere and Nathan Crosswell, who both scored 14 points, proved invaluable in their sixth straight win.
The match was littered with fouls, with Anstey, Bruton and Penney making regular appearances at the free-throw line.
New Zealand coach Andrej Lemanis was left to lament his team's faltering offence in the secod half, where they shot 13-of-37 from the field.
"In that fourth [quarter], I thought we did a good job defensively. We just struggled to find our rhythm at the offensive end and it's something we need to get on top of, now moving into these last five games,'' he said.
"We kept them to 21 in the last. We've got to find a way to put a few more points on the board.''
Alan Westover hailed his side's performance in the defensive end as the primary reason for the victory.
"Any time you can hold them to 89 points, you've got to be happy with that. They're a very potent offensive team and shoot the ball so well. They've got so many different guys that can do it,'' he said.
The Tigers' next opponents are also the South Dragons, in a table-topping clash.
Monday, 26 January 2009
