KEY POINTS:
The New Zealand Breakers effortlessly snared a sixth straight win last night, downing the Gold Coast Blaze 110-88 to return to the top of the Australian National Basketball League.
On the back of a vintage all round display from Tony Ronaldson and some hot shooting from Phill Jones and Oscar Forman, the Breakers made the last-placed Blaze look ordinary on the Gold Coast.
Former leaders Souths Dragons were upset by Sydney Spirit last night, leaving the Breakers alone atop the standings after 16 games.
The Blaze matched the Breakers for most of the first spell but a 12-1 run leading into halftime - featuring three Jones' three-pointers - provided a 56-44 buffer which would prove the difference.
Australian great Shane Heal was outstanding for the hosts with a game-high 27 points but the veteran guard played a lone hand.
Ronaldson dominated inside for long periods and was also dangerous from outside the arc to pick up 25 points, while Jones was on target early and Forman late to be the pick of the New Zealand sharpshooters.
In the final quarter Heal came out and tried to shoot his team back into the match but with Rick Rickert and Ronaldson dominating under the basket, there were no rebounds and no second chances for the Blaze.
Forman hit three threes in the final quarter and put the icing on the cake with an alley-oop pass which was caught by Tom Abercrombie who threw it down in style.
Breakers Coach Andrej Lemanis was pleased to see that his team was still superior even with Kirk Penney (eight points) and CJ Bruton down on their usual contributions.
"One of the strengths of our group is the multitude of guys that can put the ball in the basket and the fact that we play together as a team," Lemanis said.
The Breakers will play the Townsville Crocodiles at home on Thursday, a side on a streak of their own having won their last three matches since losing 108-119 to the Breakers in Townsville two weeks ago.
- NZPA
