Basketball New Zealand

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NZ Breakers guard Kirk Penney (Photosport)

Jonathan Healy, Sportal
The Harvey Norman NZ Breakers have consolidated their position in the top eight and look destined to feature in their first ever Hummer NBL Championship playoff series after posting a 104-93 victory over the South Dragons at Vodafone Arena on Saturday night.

Trailing by nine points at quarter time, the Breakers upped the ante on defence afterwards and outscored the Dragons in the second and third terms to go on and record a comfortable victory.

Kirk Penney was once again sensational for the Breakers, the shooting guard hitting a game-high 28 points on 10-of-17 shooting, while Derrick Alston (17 points) and Orien Greene (13 points) provided ample support.

Import duo Bakari Hendrix (25 points) and Cortez Groves (23 points) led the Dragons in scoring, but they received little support from their team-mates.

Brent Hobba was promoted to the Dragons starting line-up, and the move paid immediate dividends, with the home side shooting a solid 52.6 per cent from the field during the opening term to lead by nine (27-18) at the first break.

In his first game back from injury, veteran forward Tony Ronaldson nailed a triple from the top of the arc to open the second stanza and when Penney finished a tough bucket off the glass just moments later, the Breakers had tied the game at 29.

Luke Martin hit a big three, and Matt Burston and Hendrix lifted their games to steady the Dragons, but when Paul Henare nailed a jumper on the half-time buzzer, scores were once again tied (47-47) at the main break.

Groves finished off a three-point play to begin the third quarter, but with Greene running the show in style and Oscar Forman finally finding his touch from outside, the Breakers scored the next nine points to open up a six-point lead.

With Ronaldson using all his guile and experience inside the key, the visitors looked to hold all the aces, and when Tim Behrendorff swished a three from the top of arc just prior to the final break, the game looked to be over.

Trailing 66-77 at the final break, the Dragons attempted to mount a comeback from beyond the three-point line and when Nathan Herbert splashed a long bomb from the corner, the Breakers’ lead was four (84-80) with a little over six minutes remaining.

However, Forman and Penney both connected from outside in the final minutes to ensure the Breakers held on to record the win.

With three games remaining in what has been a disappointing season, interim Dragons coach Guy Molloy said he is working hard to get another win for his side.

“It’s about trying to find some energy and passion, and I think we had that tonight,” Molloy said.

“You can see it in the guys eyes in the fourth quarter, they just don’t have the belief that they can win those game.”

“I would like to stick together for two weeks and see if we can pick up that elusive win.”

While Breakers’ coach Andrej Lemanis was happy with the victory, he was once again frustrated with his team’s slow start.

“I am happy that we won but I didn’t think we gave the consistency of effort on the defensive end that we have over the last couple of games,” Lemanis said.

“When we defend we are a good team, we picked it up in the second half and that helped us.”

The Dragons (4-23) host the Cairns Taipans on Wednesday night, while the Breakers (15-12) return to New Zealand to tackle the Melbourne Tigers on Thursday.

Harvey Norman NZ Breakers 104 (Penney 28, Alston 17, Greene 13)
South Dragons 93 (Bakari Hendrix 25, Cortez Groves 23, Matt Burston 10)