Breakers crush Brisbane Bullets 113-84 to stay top of Ignite Cup ladder

Sam Mennenga of the Breakers drives to the basket during the round nine NBL match between Brisbane Bullets and New Zealand Breakers. Photo / Getty Images

The Brisbane Bullets were shot to bits on the Gold Coast on Wednesday night as the rampant New Zealand Breakers won 113-84 to record their fourth NBL win of the season and their second Ignite Cup victory – from two outings.

Shaking off the second-half “yips”, the BNZ Breakers commanded the game and the Brisbane Bullets learned what a dominant team looks like when they stay on task for all four quarters.

And with the in-season tournament Ignite Cup points on offer, the Breakers played well enough to remain in top contention for the $400,000 prize on offer at the end of the season.

The Breakers had learned the lesson from their loss last month at Eventfinda Stadium on the North Shore, where they squandered a 24-point lead, the last time the two teams met. This time, the identical advantage midway through the second quarter was made to count and at one stage the Breakers were ahead by as many 37 points.

With Cup and League points at stake, the Breakers were out of the gate in a rush as they opened a 18-10 lead inside the first five minutes and were a further point to the good at quarter time with a 27-18 advantage. NBL Next Star Karim Lopez delivered eight early points.

The Breakers then scored the first nine points of the second frame with Izayah Le’afa and Parker Jackson-Cartwright combining efficiently. With six consecutive points from Sam Mennenga, the Breakers’ lead was out to 49-25 midway through the stanza.

Shooting from beyond the arc at 59% (with seven different players contributing to the 10 from 17 makes) and 64% overall the Breakers built a massive 68-36 halftime lead – the 68 points just a single point shy of the club’s highest-ever first-half total. Both Lopez and Mennenga had 13 points each at the break and Jackson-Cartwright 11.

While a Sam Mennenga And-1 play opened the second-half scoring, an alley-oop from Izaiah Brockington off a Lopez pass truly caught the eye, pushing the Breakers’ lead beyond 30. This highlighted the stark difference between the teams: the Breakers were making all the shots, leaving the Bullets firing blanks.

The Bullets fired a few rounds at the back end of the third, but the Breakers collected another Ignite Cup point as they took the quarter 24-21 to lead 92-57 with 10 minutes to play.

Although the Bullets had the better of the last quarter, with such a sizeable lead the Breakers’ head coach Petteri Koponen was able to give valuable playing time to his bench unit – Jack Andrew able to score his first points in his second appearance.

On a night when they shot a season high 48% (12/25) from three-point range, significant contributions from all five starters were led by the Tall Black Mennenga’s 25 points. Brockington produced a couple of highlight dunks on his way to 19 points, Jackson-Cartwright added 7 assists to 15 points, Lopez produced 13 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists while Rob Baker II posted a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds. There were also valuable cameo efforts from Reuben Te Rangi (7 points and 4 rebounds) and Le’afa (6 points).

Taking six from a possible seven Ignite Cup points from the game means the Breakers now sit joint first on ladder with 13 points. The Perth Wildcats also have 13 points but have played three games compared with the Breakers’ two.

With only the top two sides qualifying for the Ignite Cup Final, the Breakers will look to enhance their chance of an appearance when they take on the Sydney Kings at GLOBOX Arena in Hamilton on December 3. The Breakers will be hoping the Waikato faithful will be the difference after an agonising loss in Sydney last week.

Having left the Bullets completely out of ammunition and checking their pockets for stray points, the Breakers have no time for a victory lap. They head west to face the Perth Wildcats – a team that will undoubtedly have more bite than Brisbane.

Result:

BNZ Breakers 113 – Mennenga 25pts, Brockington 19pts, Jackson-Cartwright 15pts, Lopez 13pts, Baker 12pts & 11rebs

Brisbane Bullets 84 – Prather 26pts, Mathias 12pts, Ducas 11pts, Harrison 11pts.