Mody Maor quick to support Zylan Cheatham after NZ Breakers loss to Melbourne United

The NZ Breakers have fallen back outside the top six following back-to-back losses. Photo / Photosport

After the buzzer sounded to end the New Zealand Breakers’ tough loss to Melbourne United in New Plymouth on Friday night, Mody Maor was quick to voice his support of star import Zylan Cheatham.

Cheatham had a moment to forget that brought an end to the game. Grabbing a defensive rebound with the Breakers down by one point and about three seconds on the clock, Cheatham instinctively tried to call a timeout to give Maor the chance to draw up a match-winning play.

However, while it is allowed in other leagues around the world including the NBA, under NBL rules timeouts can’t be called during live action and the few seconds the side had to avoid a second-straight loss ticked away.

It was a rough way for the night to end after a tight, back-and-forth tussle, and speaking after the game Maor revealed what he told Cheatham following the play.

“That I love him. I love him, I believe in him, and mistakes are part of the game. You make mistakes and you recover from them, and that’s what’s important. It’s all good.”

His comments were reinforced by forward Anthony Lamb, who scored a team-high 22 points in the game. He said that one moment couldn’t be blamed for the loss.

“That’s not what cost us at all and if it was that, then we need to become better in every other area because that’s not what you decide a game on ever. One play is not going to be the thing where I’m like ‘Oh it’s his fault.’ We’ll clean up all the other stuff before I ever say ‘Oh he should have done that better’.”

While they had their stagnant patches, there was a lot to like in the Breakers’ performance against the league’s best team, but it was another game they will have felt slipped through their fingers.

They got off to a fast start before Melbourne turned it into an arm wrestle and edged it out thanks to some crafty play from veteran guard Matthew Dellavedova.

“[It was a] heavyweight battle, great opponent, tested us in many ways,” Maor said.

“A lot of the things we did today I really liked, the ending, obviously, less. But it’s something that we’ll learn from and how we respond now is what matters.

“We can feel sad for ourselves because we let this one drop, or we can be pissed and step into the next game with something to prove. That’s the only thing I care about now.”

Perhaps for the better, the Breakers won’t have time to dwell on the loss. They have a quick turnaround between games this week, with a visit to the Sydney Kings on Sunday evening.

After the loss to Melbourne, the Breakers have fallen back outside the playoff spots in what shapes up as a tight race for the lower seeds. At 8-11, the Breakers sit second from the bottom, but just two wins outside of the top six and with games in hand on six of the eight teams above them.

“The big lesson, and an important one for us to learn, is you are measured by how you respond when things don’t break your way. We’ve done a fantastic job during the season overcoming obstacles,” Maor said.

“This is a different kind of obstacle that now we need to overcome because the next game is very soon and against a very good team who will challenge us in a lot of different ways.”

Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.