At Spark Arena, Auckland: NZ Breakers 109 (Anthony Lamb 24, Mantas Rubštavičius 17, Parker Jackson-Cartwright 17, Izayah Le’afa 15, Mangok Mathiang 14, Tom Abercrombie 10), Sydney Kings 101 (Kouat Noi 19, DJ Hogg 15, Alex Toohey 15, Jaylen Adams 14, Jordan Hunter 10). 1Q: 29-17; HT: 53-53; 3Q: 86-68.
The Breakers may not be back at full-strength, but they appear to be well and truly back in the Australian NBL race if Friday night’s statement victory over the champion Sydney Kings is anything to go by.
The Kiwi club’s hopes of heading into their final pre-Christmas game at or near full-strength were dashed when import Zylan Cheatham – out since October 26 with a fractured foot – was unable to take the floor and Kiwi forward Finn Delany had to cry off with a calf injury sustained at Thursday’s practice that’s set to rule him out for at least a month.
There had been hopes Cheatham might have been ready for court-time, but after warming up for the second straight game, the American power forward again remained anchored to the bench throughout.
Never mind. The Breakers barely missed a beat in the absence of their power forward duo, with little-used Dan Fotu stepping up brilliantly in his first career start, Anthony Lamb producing another signature display and the backup efforts spread well as the Kiwi club cruised to its first back-to-back victories this season in this second rematch between last year’s grand finalists.
The victory was laid on by a dominant 33-15 third quarter by Mody Maor’s men as they eased to an 18-point lead that proved very handy in the face of the inevitable Kings comeback over the run home.
The win, just their second in the last eight games against the Kings at Spark, improved the Breakers to 6-9 for the season, while the Sydney club drops to 9-7.
Lamb, the former Golden State Warrior, was again superb as he paced the Breakers with a heady display of strength, poise and standout shooting. He made 9 of 16 shots, including 3 of 9 from deep, for his game-high 24 points and added 4 boards and 3 dimes for good measure
Speedy point guard Parker Jackson-Cartwright chimed in with 17 points, 9 assists and a pair of steals, Izayah Le’afa knocked down four triples in his 15 points off the pine, while 21-year-old Lithuanian prospect Mantas Rubštavičius continued his handy form with an efficient 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting.
The Breakers also got a big effort inside from centre Mangok Mathiang who shook off a few early handling wobbles to pour in 14 points (including 6 of 8 from the foul-line) and 5 boards, while skipper Tom Abercrombie found his stroke to add 10 points in 23 minutes off the pine. Fotu’s 8 points and 4 boards in 23 busy minutes were also vital for the home side.
The Kings got 19 points from Kouat Noi off the bench, 15 apiece from import forward DJ Hogg and Next Star Alex Toohey and 14 from star playmaker Jaylen Adams
Phil Walter/Getty Images
Mantas Rubštavičius continued his impressive form for the Breakers in Friday’s win over the Kings.
The Breakers, with Fotu bringing the early energy, made an impressive beginning, rocketing out to a 29-17 first-quarter advantage, courtesy of a 15-0 run through the middle stages that converted an early 8-6 edge into a 23-6 lead.
The Kiwi club won the rebound battle 14-7, made 10 of their 18 shots and shifted the ball nicely to spread the scoring load as they established clear air between themselves and the back-to-back champs through the opening stanza.
Of course the Kings had a response, and it came in the second period as they charged back behind some quality play from Toohey, big man Jordan Hunter and Hogg to win the quarter by a dozen (36-24) and level the contest at 53-53 by the major break.
The evenness of the matchup was demonstrated by the first-half shooting stats, with the Breakers knocking down 18 of 35 shots and the Kings 19 of 35.
The Breakers made their move in the third, easing out by 18 with that high-energy 33-15 charge, and while the Kings got to within five over a desperate final-term charge, the home side always had too much breathing room, and poise, to cough this one up.
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