Breakers edged by Adelaide 36ers in nail-biting 700th NBL clash in Christchurch

Karim Lopez of the Breakers dunks the ball during the NZ Breakers v Adelaide 36ers. Photo / Photosport

The Wolfbrook Arena crowd truly got a battle and a half on Thursday, as the New Zealand Breakers’ 700th NBL game delivered a nail-biting thriller that went right down to the wire.

While the Adelaide 36ers ultimately edged out an 83-79 victory, the result was in doubt until the final seconds. The closing minute was pure sporting drama, sending the Christchurch crowd to the edge of their seats.

Despite falling off the pace at the start of the fourth quarter, the BNZ Breakers had mounted a furious rally. A clutch score from Izaiah Brockington who finished with 25 points, his second 25-point haul of the season, slashed the deficit.

A Parker Jackson-Cartwright score made it a two-point game (80-78) inside the last 60 seconds, and the Canterbury crowd were on the edge of their seats.

The teams traded frantic free throws in the final moments before Zylan Cheatham finally secured the win for the 36ers from the line. Despite the result, the Breakers ensured their milestone game was a memorable, heavyweight contest, with Parker Jackson-Cartwright adding 21 points and 10 assists in the hard-fought battle.

The BNZ Breakers ultimately failed to take advantage of leading 68-66 heading into the final stanza. The BNZ Breakers failed to score with their next 14 field goal attempts and almost six minutes had elapsed in the spell before Sam Mennenga made a free-throw to snap a 9-0 Adelaide run.

Karim López added another point from the charity stripe before Rob Baker II made the Breakers first field goal of the quarter. It had taken eight minutes for the Breakers to break their duck yet remarkably they were just six points adrift (78-72).

This followed a game where both sides had looked capable of winning. At the outset five points from Jackson-Cartwright had the scores all tied up after seven minutes before the 36ers finished the opening quarter with a 10-2 run to lead 22-14 at the first break – the BNZ Breakers putting up their lowest opening quarter score of the season.

The situation improved quickly for the hosts. Mennenga brought up 500 career points for the BZN Breakers as he opened the second quarter scoring and when Brockington quickly moved into double figures the hosts trailed by just three (32-29).

Back to back scores from Jackson-Cartwright and Max Darling wiped away the deficit and with López and Baker making three-point plays the BNZ Breakers carried a 47-43 lead into halftime – Brockington with 16 points on 6 from 9 shooting.

The third quarter was a back-and-forth affair with the scores level (61-61) with under three minutes left in the frame. Jackson-Cartwright scored all seven of the Breakers points in that time as they carried a slender 68-66 advantage into the last ten minutes.

Little did the Canterbury crowd know what was in store for them in those closing minutes.

In addition to Brockington’s 25 points (on 9 from 15 from the field and 4 from 4 free-throws) Jackson-Cartwright dished 10 assists to go with 21 points and 3 steals and López scored 11 points. Baker was close to a double-double with 9 points and 9 rebounds although fellow big man Sam Mennenga had a relatively quiet night with just 7 points.

Bryce Cotton, the five-time NBL Most Valuable Player recipient, led the way for the 36ers with 23 points, Cheatham and Cameron both had 13 points and 8 rebounds while White was a spark off the bench with a dozen points.

There’s no time for the BNZ Breakers to dwell on that fourth-quarter performance. They must now prepare for a challenging four-game road trip, beginning with a clash against the Kings in Sydney on Sunday. After coming so close, they will be fiercely motivated to convert their next nail-biting battle into a victory.

Result:

BNZ Breakers 79 – Brockington 25pts, Jackson-Cartwright 21pts, López 11pts

Adelaide 36ers 83 – Cotton 23pts, Cheatham 13pts, Cameron 13pts, White 12pts