NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Sport / Basketball

Basketball: New Zealand Breakers back to winning ways

By Niall Anderson
NZ Herald·
7 Dec, 2017 09:20 AM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Shea Ili of the New Zealand Breakers drives against Daniel Kickert of the Brisbane Bullets. Photo / Getty Images

Shea Ili of the New Zealand Breakers drives against Daniel Kickert of the Brisbane Bullets. Photo / Getty Images

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Breakers 96
Bullets 89

The New Zealand Breakers have rediscovered their offensive spark, and the taste of victory.

A 96-89 win over the Brisbane Bullets would have been a sweet relief for the Australian National Basketball League front-runners, after what had been a lacklustre week.

Following nine straight victories, the Breakers had slumped to two consecutive defeats, scoring just 73 and 76 points in the process.

One of those defeats was at the hands of Brisbane on Sunday, but a much livelier performance ensured a swift end to a brief losing streak.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The manner of the victory would be most pleasing, with the difference coming on the offensive end, with the Breakers notching their second highest total of the season so far.

Breakers coach Paul Henare was pleased with the offensive tempo and pace that his side played at.

"The intent which we played with the ball – I thought it was one of our higher paced games. [Edgar] Sosa, DJ [Newbill] and Shea [Ili], the work they put in against their backcourt against the front of their press got us on the front foot."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

That factor was essential to give the Breakers an edge, because Brisbane were up to the initial challenge.

The Bullets big men were getting inside easily, boxing out the Breakers bigs with excellent positioning and gratefully receiving the rewards.

The multi-faceted combination of Daniel Kickert, Tom Jervis and Mitch Young were doing the damage in the paint, with Kickert providing the outside shooting to complement their inside scoring.

A Kickert triple built Brisbane an eight point lead, but the Breakers have found themselves in that position plenty this season, and promptly fought their way out.

Discover more

NZ Breakers

Perth snap Breakers' winning streak

01 Dec 08:30 AM
NBA

Adams scores career high in Thunder win

02 Dec 03:38 AM
NZ Breakers

Breakers fall to another defeat

03 Dec 06:30 AM
NZ Breakers

Breakers lose top spot after comeback falls short

10 Dec 08:20 AM

An offensive onslaught rapidly put them back in front, a lead they held until halftime, going into the break with a 49-47 advantage.

The onslaught was led by the man who the Breakers fortunes were perhaps best summed up by - Tom Abercrombie.

After scoring just 13 points combined in his last two outings, Abercrombie continued the Breakers resurgence after the interval with an aggressive display at both ends, finishing with 22 points and 12 rebounds.

Abercrombie noted that his aggression was a response to his quiet showings the week before.

"I wasn't too happy with how I played last week. I tried to be aggressive, get myself into the lane, get some free-throws and be a bit more active."

A trademark high-flying block was the highlight, but more important were the back-to-back threes which followed, part of a perfect 5/5 night from deep for Abercrombie.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Suddenly, the Breakers had an eight point lead, and unlike weeks prior, they managed to get significant contributions across the board.

Off the bench, Rob Loe and Finn Delany provided necessary production to counter Brisbane's interior punch, with the Breakers bench duo combining for 21 points on 9/12 shooting, and 12 rebounds.

Brisbane weren't going away easily, but DJ Newbill – as he often does – took over in the fourth quarter. The all-around import contributed a season-high eight assists, and when Brisbane threatened a comeback with a minute remaining, he reeled off five straight points to maintain the advantage.

Fittingly, it was Abercrombie who scored the final points, as the Breakers claimed their 10th win, and consolidated their spot atop the ladder.

Breakers 96 (Tom Abercrombie 22, DJ Newbill 17)
Bullets 89 (Tom Jervis 20, Daniel Kickert 16)
HT: 49-47

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Basketball

NBA

NBA season too long? Haliburton latest star to suffer severe injury

23 Jun 08:55 PM
NBA

NBA star joins Adams at the Rockets

22 Jun 05:49 PM
NBA

LA Lakers to be sold in record-breaking deal

18 Jun 11:01 PM

Kaibosh gets a clean-energy boost in the fight against food waste

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Basketball

NBA season too long? Haliburton latest star to suffer severe injury

NBA season too long? Haliburton latest star to suffer severe injury

23 Jun 08:55 PM

Tyrese Haliburton risks missing the entire 2025-26 season due to the injury.

NBA star joins Adams at the Rockets

NBA star joins Adams at the Rockets

22 Jun 05:49 PM
LA Lakers to be sold in record-breaking deal

LA Lakers to be sold in record-breaking deal

18 Jun 11:01 PM
Adams signs $65m NBA deal

Adams signs $65m NBA deal

14 Jun 07:09 PM
Engage and explore one of the most remote places on Earth in comfort and style
sponsored

Engage and explore one of the most remote places on Earth in comfort and style

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP