NBL: New Zealand Breakers show they can win with without Corey Webster

Scotty Hopson stepped up to lead all scorers for the Breakers. Photo / Photosport

NZ Breakers 90
Adelaide 36ers 84

A rejuvenated New Zealand Breakers side has held off a fast-finishing Phoenix side to post a morale-boosting victory in Christchurch.

The South East Melbourne Phoenix crashed back to earth with a thud, the NBL's highest scoring team shooting blanks against the Breakers.

Against Cairns last week, Phoenix turned a six-point deficit with 13 seconds left into an overtime victory.

The fireworks failed to ignite this time as a determined Breakers outfit ground the Phoenix down and then held off a late-game flurry to take a six-point win.

Across two games last weekend, Phoenix poured in 223 points, taking their season average to a league-leading 99.6 per game.

However, the Breakers made sure they fell well short of that mark, getting back hard on defence to force Phoenix into half court sets and running them off the three-point line at every opportunity. In the end, Phoenix could manage only 84 points.

Phoenix is a team that has a pattern of coming home like a steam train in NBL games and, down 13 and the game all but gone, they launched a comeback by committee, reducing the margin to four with 55 seconds left.

But the glimmer of hope was quickly snuffed out by a missed free throw from star Mitch Creek and an inability to capitalise on three turnovers from the Breakers.

John Roberson was the sparkplug last week, scoring 32 points, but he was off the boiler, missing 12 of his 17 shots to finish with just 13 points.

It was an unhappy homecoming for Phoenix import Tai Wesley, who was held to 10 points in his first meeting with the outfit he played 96 games for across three seasons.

The last time these two teams faced each other, NBA Draft hopeful RJ Hampton made international headlines when he was ejected for a clash with Phoenix men Roberson and Ben Madgen.

In this one, Hampton sat out with injury as a quartet of new faces in Scotty Hopson, Rob Loe, Finn Delany and Jarrad Weeks helped bring about the Melbourne team's demise.

Hopson top-scored for the home side, falling just short of a double double, with 24 points and nine rebounds while Delany finished with similar stats scoring 15 points with eight rebounds.

Despite the Breakers signalling, with the release of Corey Webster, that the club has all but given up on the playoffs, this win keeps their slim hopes of a post-season berth alive and moves them off the bottom of the NBL ladder.