NZ Breakers v Melbourne United result: Zylan Cheatham timeout blunder brings brutal finish to Breakers loss

The NZ Breakers were beaten by Melbourne United in unusual circumstances. Photo / Photosport

New Zealand Breakers import Zylan Cheatham won’t soon forget one key rule in the NBL.

With about three seconds left on the clock and his side trailing Melbourne United by one point, Cheatham grabbed a defensive rebound from a missed free throw, giving his side a slim chance of stealing the win. The Breakers had a timeout in hand, so the former NBA player frantically gestured to the officials to call the timeout and allow coach Mody Maor to draw up a play.

But you can’t call a timeout during live play in the NBL, and it brought a brutal end to proceedings; the Breakers suffering an 82-81 loss in New Plymouth.

It wasn’t a single play that was responsible for the loss, however. In a similar story to the Breakers’ defeat to Perth last weekend, a strong start went unrewarded as they were ultimately outplayed down the stretch.

Again, Next Star Mantas Rubstavicius was in the thick of things in the opening moments, scoring nine points in the opening five minutes to lead the side out to an early lead.

Just as they did against Perth, the Breakers looked impressive in the first quarter as they were moving the ball on offense, making their shots – sinking their first seven attempts before their first miss – and were well positioned on defence.

Things started to look a bit stagnant for the Breakers midway through the quarter though, and Melbourne cut the lead in half in the final two minutes to end the quarter just five points behind.

There was much of the same in the second quarter. The Breakers looked fantastic at times, but when the ball stopped moving they struggled to get the better of the Melbourne defence. The visitors were able to force turnovers and chip away at the lead, bringing the scores level again during the period.

Some timely baskets from Anthony Lamb kept the Breakers at arm’s length, finishing the half with a five-point lead.

That lead evaporated in the third quarter.

Led by sharpshooter Chris Goulding and 2016 NBA Champion Matthew Dellavedova, Melbourne continued to put the screws on the Breakers, holding them to just 18 points in the quarter. Despite being without Shea Ili, one of the league’s best defensive players, and star big man Jo Lual-Acuil jnr, Melbourne made life hard for the Breakers offense and went into the final quarter with the scores level once more.

Early in the fourth quarter, Melbourne had built a six-point lead as Goulding and Luke Travers made a fast start to the period, and the Breakers were left looking for answers.

They found them in some big baskets from Lamb and point guard Parker Jackson-Cartwright, while Mangok Mathiang continued to work hard and provide his playmakers with a reliable option in the paint.

A Zylan Cheatham layup brought the hosts level again with less than three minutes to go, and the sides traded baskets down the stretch.

Ultimately it came down to a 50-50 foul call on an inbounds pass with just seconds left on the clock. Will McDowell-White got a piece of Dellavedova’s arm and the veteran guard did enough to convince the referee he was in the act of shooting.

Sinking the first shot to put his side ahead, Dellavedova missed the second on purpose, essentially giving the Breakers a three-second shot clock from the moment they grabbed the rebound.

But as Cheatham frantically gestured to the officials for the timeout, the buzzer sounded and the Breakers were brutally beaten.

NZ Breakers 81 (Anthony Lamb 22 points, Parker Jackson-Cartwright 21)

Melbourne United 82 (Chris Goulding 24 points, Matthew Dellavedova 14)

1Q: 22-17. HT: 44-39. 3Q: 62-62.

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