In the NBL, there are certain players who will take over a game if you let them. The new-look New Zealand Breakers have learned Melbourne United recruit Xavier Rathan-Mayes falls into this category.
In their first outing of the season, the Breakers fell toa 101-97 overtime loss to Melbourne in a competitive clash, with do-it-all guard Rathan-Mayes steering the hosts home with 33 points. Among those points were two big three-point shots in overtime – though he was lucky the referees did not check one as replays showed it wasn't released before the shot clock expired.
Statistics were against the Breakers coming into the game - they claimed the wooden spoon a season ago and had lost their last seven matches against Melbourne. But the New Zealand side were strong throughout the contest. Import big man Dererk Pardon was well utilised in pick-and-roll play, rebounded well, showed hustle on both ends and attacked the rim with purpose to earn himself trips to the free-throw line.
Fellow import Barry Brown Jr started out hot, scoring 10 of the Breakers' first 15 points and causing problems for defenders in one-on-one situations, while Will McDowell-White ran the offence nicely.
Coming into the season, coach Mody Maor had noted his desire for the Breakers to be led by their defensive effort. There was a lot to like on that end against Melbourne, but there were some occasions where defensive lapses or failed rotations led to Melbourne finding wide-open looks from beyond the arc.
With the shooters at their disposal, these were often free points. Melbourne ended the match shooting at 47 per cent from deep, while the Breakers, who showed plenty of patience to work good looks both inside and outside the arc, shot just 25 per cent from three-point range.
The Breakers opted to run a big starting five, with McDowell-White and Brown Jr starting alongside big men Pardon, Jarrell Brantley and Rob Loe. That group came out of the gate strong, getting stops early and rebounding well to force Melbourne into plenty of one-and-done offensive sets.
However, Melbourne began to work out the Breakers defence as the quarter went on, trailing by just two at the break, before turning things around and holding a three-point lead at halftime, led by Rathan-Mayes' 14 first-half points.
The match continued to go back-and-forth in the second half; if one team started inching away, it wasn't long before the other pulled the score back. Ultimately, it was Melbourne who were able to pull away in overtime, with Rathan-Mayes taking over the game and guiding his side to an opening win.
Melbourne United 101 (Xavier Rathan-Mayes 33 points, Chris Goulding 24) NZ Breakers 97 (Dererk Pardon 23, Barry Brown Jr 23) 1Q: 20-22 HT: 45-42 3Q: 69-67. 4Q: 88-88.
