NZ Breakers 90 Gold Coast Blaze 79
KEY POINTS:
SYDNEY - Coach Andrej Lemanis hailed the New Zealand Breakers' most complete performance of the Australian National Basketball League (ANBL) season, a 90-79 away win over the Gold Coast Blaze last night.
The result moved the Breakers up to sixth on the points table with a 6-5 win-loss record as they prepare to host the 11th-placed Wollongong Hawks on Thursday.
"Defensively we were rock solid for 48 minutes and we haven't done that before this season," Lemanis said.
"To keep a team to 79 points and deal with their physicality was a very good result. "
After some indifferent shooting efforts in recent weeks the Breakers were on target with a tidy 47 per cent success rate while the Blaze put up 15 more shots but only succeeded with 32 per cent.
Tall Black Kirk Penney again led the way with 22 points, import Rick Rickert was outstanding with 19 points and 13 rebounds, while Phill Jones hit four from eight of his three-point attempts to total 16 points.
For the Blaze, Tall Blacks captain Pero Cameron, a key off-season signing for the new franchise this year, led the way with 17 points but the Breakers always held a handy double-figure buffer in the second half.
The Breakers flew out of the blocks to lead 30-17 at quartertime, 55-44 at the main break and 70-55 with one quarter remaining.
The Blaze, with foundation Breakers Casey Frank and Ben Melmeth also in their ranks, were on a hot streak but hit the speed wobbles at the weekend with losses to West Sydney and the Breakers to slip back to seventh.
With a first visit to the playoffs now shifting slightly closer into view, Lemanis wanted his Breakers to build a winning streak and establish some long-awaited consistency.
"I've always said we'll continue to get better as the year goes on. It was always going to take some time to adjust to each other.
"It's important we build a bit of a gap on the others, it's such a tight competition and two losses can set you back. "
It was the Breakers' third away win of the season, another encouraging aspect for Lemanis whose side have consistently struggled to win in Australia.
The only worry was the thigh injury to in-form point guard Wayne Turner which sidelined him during the second quarter.
He was rated a doubtful starter for Thursday's match, although Lemanis praised Paul Henare's contribution.
"It's testament to the depth we've got this year -- Paul did a great job in running the team in the second half. "
- NZPA
