Dragons 115
Breakers 112
KEY POINTS:
A third consecutive defeat for the New Zealand Breakers couldn't dull coach Andrej Lemanis' excitement after a playoff-intensity Australian National Basketball League thriller in Melbourne.
South Dragons increased their competition lead over the second-placed Breakers with a 115-112 overtime win last night, thanks to a Rhys Carter three-pointer with 16 seconds on the clock.
The Breakers led most of the way and had their chances in the dying minutes to snatch victory and top spot on the ladder, but Lemanis preferred to celebrate the match of the season and potential preview for next month's finals series.
"I'm sure everyone who was here would agree it was a great game of basketball. It was two teams going at it, some unbelievable shots being made, it was worthy of a one-two clash," Lemanis said.
"I'm proud of our team, they way we played and the way we fought, and it came down to who made a shot at the end. It was awesome - if you can't enjoy that, you don't enjoy sport at all."
Lemanis forgave his side's late lapses when they couldn't close out a nailbiter for a second consecutive Saturday after the 85-86 defeat to Sydney Spirit.
Most notable was star guard Kirk Penney, who led all scorers with 32 points including four of seven three-point attempts to help send the match to the wire.
He had the chance to nail it with 17sec remaining in normal time, but missed consecutive freethrow attempts with the Breakers leading 100-99.
Penney then fouled Carter, he missed his first freethrow but drained the second to lock it up as the Breakers couldn't put up the potential matchwinner in the final seconds.
"We had foul shots, we had a wide open look with 1.7sec to play. We ran the play beautifully and got a wide open look," Lemanis said.
"We had our chances, it was one of those things but that's the way a basketball game goes. It's played over the full 48 minutes and you can't say what happened in one play at the end.
"You can go through all the plays as well... but they banked two three-pointers (in overtime). Sometimes the gods are with you."
The Breakers shot magnificently in the first half and raced to an 18-4 lead after six minutes. They led 55-50 at halftime and took a five-point lead into the final quarter before the Dragons stormed home, led by international forward Mark Worthington's 27 points.
Oscar Forman was a Breakers standout with 20 points including six-of-nine three-point attempts and two crucial rebounds in the final 90sec of normal time; Tony Ronaldson hit 23 points; import Rick Rickert toiled hard for 12 points and 10 rebounds and Paul Henare chimed in with 10 assists.
Star point guard CJ Bruton returned from an ankle injury and logged 20 minutes off the bench, hitting a three-pointer with 34sec left in overtime to level the scores 112-112 before Carter's heroics.
Turnovers lost it for the Breakers. They made 22 to the Dragons' eight, and the hosts snapped up a huge 32 points as a result.
The Breakers now return home to their beloved North Shore gym to host the sixth-placed Townsville Crocodiles on Thursday and the third-placed Melbourne Tigers a week later.
The Dragons, also coming off back-to-back defeats, improved their season record to 18-6, a win percentage of 75, while the Breakers slipped to 15-7, 68 per cent.
The Breakers still held a handy buffer over Melbourne, 11-8 (58 per cent) heading into the Tigers' match against fifth-placed Perth.
- NZPA
