Game one was ugly enough for Adelaide. They were picked apart from the opening bell, given a lesson in intensity, aggression and post-season basketball. And it was a lesson Adelaide coach Joey Wright believed his charges would heed.
"It's just disappointing that we didn't show up ready to fight," he said. "And that's all it was - it was a fight, not a basketball game.
"At this point in time, everyone knows what each other are doing, so they didn't trick us with anything. What they did do is they got out there and played a lot harder than us."
That much was apparent after about 22 seconds, when Mika Vukona gathered the rebound from his own miss and scored the first points. The tone was set and, by the end of his first shift on the floor, Vukona had five points, four rebounds, been involved in one confrontation - and helped his side to a double-digit lead.
"I thought he really ignited the break, the way that he rebounded and busted out," said coach Dean Vickerman. "It looked like he was in the best kind of state that he'd been in all year, athletically.
"He couldn't wait for this game and that's how he addressed the boys the other day. It was great leadership from him."
Wright, who coached Vukona at the Gold Coast Blaze, agreed with Vickerman's assessment and picked the power forward to again lead his team by example tonight.
"If that was a regular season game he'd have probably been on the bench," Wright said. "Mika hadn't played more than 10 or 15 minutes against us, because they usually call those fouls.
"They didn't do it this time and, if he's on the court and allowed to do it, he's going to rally his team and they're going to jump right behind him."
While Wright's recall was slightly inaccurate - Vukona averaged 21 minutes in four regular-season meetings between the teams - the general sentiment was correct. Vukona was in foul trouble in three of those four games but, on Thursday, with the referees swallowing their whistles, he was called for only two fouls, allowed to inspire his teammates rather than consigned to the bench.
That inspiration was clearly felt as the Breakers hustled their way to a 22-4 advantage in second-chance points, indicative of a team that shut down opportunities at one end while seizing every opening at the other. It was also, perhaps, indicative of a team engaging in the dark arts under the hoop.
"There's no such thing as too aggressive," Wright said of his opponents' play. "You do what you have to do. If you can punch someone in the stomach and the refs aren't going to call it, punch him. Punch him twice, not just once.
"They played with that level of intensity. They grabbed, held, pushed, shoved - and we just didn't do it back. So I'm not blaming the referees - we've got to do it back. If they're going to push with one hand, we've got to push with two."
Which is precisely what will await the Breakers in South Australia tonight. The last thing they want is a third and deciding game back in Auckland on Monday, so one challenge will be maintaining their own level of intensity. The other will be the way they respond to Adelaide's onslaught.
"The big key for us will be to keep our composure," said centre Alex Pledger. "Against this particular team, I anticipate they'll be a little bit chippy and try to not necessarily start fights but instigate stuff and try to get under our skin."
On the road
Breakers' record in game two of semifinal series on the road:
• 2010/11 - 93-89 win in Perth (won series in three).
• 2011/12 - 94-83 win in Townsville (won series in three).
• 2012/13 - 99-88 win in Sydney (won series in two).
