Breakers dominate defending champs Illawarra Hawks in 42‑point rout

Sam Mennenga of the Breakers dunks the ball during the round seven NBL match between Illawarra Hawks and New Zealand Breakers. Photo / Getty Images

The New Zealand Breakers bounced back from a nail-biting loss at home to the Brisbane Bullets to defeat the defending champion the Illawarra Hawks in Wollongong winning 102-60.

The BNZ Breakers recorded their third win of the season in emphatic fashion leading through every quarter and showing dominance at both ends of the court. The Breakers entered the contest having lost all three previous away games this season.

They ripped up the form book, having lost the last four games in Wollongong and showed they could put together a complete game, as they head to Christchurch to take on the Adelaide 36ers on Thursday.

The Breakers had six players in double figures. Kiwi Sam Mennenga continued his outstanding season and recorded his third double-double of the season (21 points and 11 rebounds), Rob Baker II scored a season high 19 points (4 from 8 three-pointers), fellow import Izaiah Brockington scored 12, and the iconic Parker Jackson-Cartwright added 11 points and 6 assists, Carlin Davison chipped in with 10 points while Karim López stuffed the stats line with 14 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists 2 steals and a block.

The BNZ Breakers won the rebounding count 53-42 and shot an efficient 51% (40/79) from the field and 38% (12/32) from three-point land while holding the Hawks to 32% from the field and just 2 from 23 from beyond the arc – only JaVale McGee (13 points) and Tyler Harvey (11 points) registered double figures for Illawarra.

Seventeen-year-old Junior Tall Black Jackson Ball retained his place in the Illawarra Hawks starting lineup but it was Breakers Mexican teenager López that made his mark early on as the visitors forged a 10-2 lead.

Brockington made it a 24-11 lead and with Jackson-Cartwright scoring five points late in the period. The BNZ Breakers had their highest first quarter score of the season and a 31-18 advantage.

Despite the Hawks centre McGee achieving 13 first half points, the Breakers continued to build their lead, which stretched to 19 points and was still at 18 points (52-34) at the interval. Mennenga led the first half effort with 14 points, on five from eight shooting, with Brockington also in double figures with 10 points although the key to the Breakers success was holding the free scoring Hawks to their lowest opening half points total this season.

The BNZ Breakers had given up a big first half lead (18 points) in the previous game against the Brisbane Bullets causing fans to worry – but this time were in no mood to let their guard down.

A pair of Baker triples stretched the lead to 25 points although the BNZ Breakers immediately lost López with a cut above the eye after a head clash with Mason Peatling.

The loss of their NBL Next Star didn’t slow the Breakers’ progress – a transition dunk from Davison made it a 30-point game and a dominant 27-10 quarter meant the Breakers were cruising at the three-quarter mark with a 79-44 lead.

Surprisingly, López, with his head swathed in bandage, returned at the start of the fourth and easily converted a left-hand layup. He added a corner three pointer to become the sixth Breaker into double figures.

Breakers coach Petteri Koponen gave extended time to his bench players in the closing minutes, with Max Darling draining a pair of threes to cap off an emphatic victory.

The BNZ Breakers are next in action on Thursday November 6 at Wolfbrook Arena, Christchurch when they take on Bryce Cotton and the Adelaide 36ers. The fixture will mark the 700th NBL game the Breakers have played since the club’s debut appearance in October 2003.

Result:

BNZ Breakers 102– Mennenga 21pts & 11rebs, Baker 19pts, López 14pts & 8rebs, Brockington 12pts, Jackson-Cartwright 11pts, Davison 10pts

Illawarra Hawks 60 – McGee 13pts & 10rebs, Harvey 11pts