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KEY POINTS:
In a season that has promised so much, the New Zealand Breakers' dream of becoming the first Kiwi team to win an Australian league is hanging by a thread.
The Breakers trail the Melbourne Tigers in the best-of-three semifinals series and must win tonight if they are to keep their Grand Final hopes alive.
And it will take a turnaround of epic proportions from the Breakers if they are to force a third game.
The Kiwi side were out-performed in every facet of Wednesday night's 99-117 loss, with the experienced Tigers line-up giving the Breakers a lesson in what playoffs basketball is all about.
The defending champions, who are odds-on to make their fourth-straight Grand Final appearance, played better defence, hit the boards harder, were more lethal from the three-point line and dictated the tempo of the game.
For Breakers coach Andrej Lemanis, the most disappointing aspect of his side's performance was their lack of energy and desperation on defence.
"When you are playing for your life, you think you will bring energy to it and that was disappointing," said Lemanis. "We've got a certain style of defence that we play that requires us to bring an energy to it and we just didn't bring that from the start of the game and that obviously allowed them to get their tails up a little bit and they were feeling good about life."
History is now firmly against the Breakers. In the 46 semifinal series dating back to 1987, only six times has a club come back from an 0-1 deficit to win the series.
Furthermore, 10 of the last 11 semifinals have been won 2-0.
With those statistics in mind, it is all too apparent the Breakers have a huge task in front of them to keep their season alive.
Four factors that can turn it around for the Breakers:
Home crowd
There's no place like home and, being back in more friendly surroundings at the North Shore Events Centre, should provide the Breakers with a huge boost. Not only that but, for the first time in the club's history, the game has sold out in advance of the doors opening on game night. And with a full house of 4200 behind the Breakers, they will be eager to put on a show.
Bench players
If the Breakers are to overcome a side as rich in depth as the Tigers, they need better productivity off the bench. In game one on Wednesday, the Breakers' bench players only scratched up 23 points between them, as opposed to the Tigers' 53. The home side will be eager to turn this statistic around tonight.
CJ Bruton
He has proven his class time and time again and tonight Australia's premier point guard will be called on once more to show what he is made of. The Breakers need Bruton to control the tempo of the match and provide the offensive spark. Bruton, who has won NBL Championships with Sydney in 2004 and 2005 and with Brisbane in 2007, is a proven match-winner and his experience in these pressure-filled matches is vital to the Breakers' chances tonight.
Defensive intensity
Lemanis was unhappy with his side's application on defence in game one. The New Zealand side were found badly wanting on defence and failed to put enough pressure on the Tigers' danger men, with Melbourne knocking down just under half their shots while the Breakers' shooting percentage was down in the late-30s. The Kiwis need to lift their energy and be more aggressive if they are to tame the Tigers.
