At Spark Arena, Auckland: NBL semifinal, game 1: NZ Breakers 88 (Dererk Pardon 15, Will McDowell-White 13, Rayan Rupert 12, Barry Brown Jr 11), Tasmania JackJumpers 68 (Rashard Kelly 12, Milton Doyle 10). 1Q: 19-12; HT: 39-37; 3Q: 65-54.
It’s never easy for the New Zealand Breakers, even when it was, well, kinda easy in their National Basketball League semifinal opener against last year’s beaten grand finalists from Tasmania in Auckland on Sunday.
With the city in batten-down-the-hatches mode in the face of the looming arrival of Cyclone Gabrielle, the Breakers walked off court after a 20-point thumping of the JackJumpers to be greeted with the news they were heading for the airport at 3am on Monday for a 6am flight (for Melbourne, then Tasmania) to just beat a planned 7am closedown of the facility. Their opponents are also due to fly out at the same time.
The Breakers had been scheduled to fly out of Auckland on Tuesday, and the players were due to have a day off at home on Monday to regather themselves for a series that will continue in Hobart on Thursday night and then return to Auckland for a decider, if required, next Sunday.
Mody Maor’s Breakers are in the box seat, just one win from a first NBL grand final appearance in seven years after going 1-0 up in this best-of-three series. This is their first post-season appearance since 2018, and the first under the current American ownership group. They appear to hold all the cards after a dominant opening performance, anchored by their suffocating defence which the visitors had few answers for.
READ MORE:
* Anatomy of an NBL transformation: From tears to cheers, NZ Breakers turn it round in ’22-23
* Family, faith and fulfilling destiny: Jarrell Brantley fuelled to deliver for NZ Breakers
* Barry Brown Jr exudes ‘swag factor’ as NZ Breakers end five-year NBL playoff absence
And they pledge to take their latest travel snafu in their stride. After spending the previous two seasons stuck in a pandemic-enforced road trip from hell and encountering their fair share of issues through this year’s more “normal” campaign, it’s a blip they say won’t unsettle them.
“In the first practice of the season I told the guys circumstances in the NBL are always going to be against us,” said Maor after the game. “The team that wins, or rises to the occasion, is the one that overcomes the circumstances. It’s not the one that gets the smooth ride. God knows there hasn’t been a smooth ride until now, and it’s not a smooth ride now either.
“Our guys finally earned a day off in New Zealand and they’re not going to get it now. We leave at 3am for the airport and we have two and a-half days to prepare in Tasmania. We don’t feel sorry for ourselves. We’re grateful for the opportunity, and we go do the work.
Fiona Goodall/Getty Images
Will McDowell-White was in attack mode for the Breakers in the NBL semifinal against Tasmania at Spark Arena.
Star Breakers point guard Will McDowell-White agreed: “We’ve been through it a couple of times this year. It’s nothing new for us. We’ve got a good group of guys who know how to stay ready, so we’ll be fine.”
Fine is an understatement. After going 5-23 last season spent entirely in Australia, the Kiwi club has transformed into one of the class acts of the Aussie league in 2022-23. And on Sunday it was, in many ways, a trademark Breakers performance. Their offence ebbed and flowed, ranging from the slick to the slack, but their defence never wavered as they put the squeeze on the visitors throughout, and led this contest at every juncture.
That tight, physical defence well and truly put the clamps on the JackJumpers who shot just 33% from the floor (20 of 59) and 26% (6 of 23) from deep. The Breakers saw a 16-point lead pared back to just two (39-37) at halftime, but opened the third quarter with a scoring burst that restored the margin to double-digits (65-54) by the final break.
The visitors never really threatened in the concluding period as the Breakers cantered home with a 23-14 final term.
The Breakers got a balanced effort on offence, with 11 players on the scoresheet as they overcame a rare off-night from power forward Jarrell Brantley who went 2-of-12 from the floor en route to just 8 points, 5 boards and 3 assists.
Never mind. Big American Dererk Pardon stepped up to fill the void beautifully, leading all scorers with 15 points (on 6-of-8 shooting), to go with 9 rebounds and a pair of blocks. He was a commanding figure at both ends of the floor.
McDowell-White was also excellent for the home side as he led the show splendidly to finish with 13 points (on 5-of-8 shooting), 6 rebounds and 7 assists.
Fiona Goodall/Getty Images
Barry Brown Jnr makes his feelings clear as the Breakers went up 1-0 in their NBL semifinal series against Tasmania.
French 18-year-old Rayan Rupert chipped in with 12 points and 5 boards, and Barry Brown, with his injured hand wrapped, added 11 points off the bench.
Tasmanaia were led by 12 points from import Rashard Kelly, but all-NBL first-teamer Milton Doyle was kept to just 10 points on 3-of-9 shooting.
The Breakers had burst out of the blocks to make an uncharacteristically fast start, scoring the first half-dozen points, and leading 12-2 just past the midway point of the opening period, and 19-12 at the first break.
That advantage grew to as many as 16 (31-15) in the second quarter as the home defence had the JackJumpers struggling for quality looks. But this is Tasmania we are talking about. They made the grand final in year one of their existence. They are tough, resilient and plucky. Sure enough, they finished the second period on a 16-3 run as the Breakers offence stalled, turnovers kicked in, and, behind 11 points from import forward Kelly, the visitors closed to within just a bucket (39-37) at the major break.
But the Breakers came out with renewed purpose at the start of the third period, and from there this game was only ever going to have one outcome. Maor and his men are now so close to a grand final they can practically touch it.
Discussion about this post