Breakers Roll Into Playoffs
Tagged in: NZ Breakers
Steve Orme, Sportal
The NZ Breakers have rained on Sydney Spirit’s parade securing a 107-97 victory on an emotion-charged night at the Sydney Olympic Park Sports Centre on Saturday.
Having trailed at every break, the visitors made their move early in the final stanza claiming the lead before unleashing a barrage of long-range buckets to put the result beyond doubt and end all hope of a fairytale finish in the club’s final Australian National Basketball League fixture.
CJ Bruton was outstanding for the Breakers finishing with a game-high 30 points on 6-of-8 shooting from beyond the arc, while Phill Jones (23) and Kirk Penney also played pivotal roles.
As he has done all season, Sydney captain Jason Smith led by example with 20 points alongside inspirational forward Matt Knight (18 points, nine rebounds) who capped a fine season with an impressive all-round display.
Breakers coach Andrej Lemanis was pleased with his side’s second-half showing but concedes there is still room for improvement ahead of Thursday’s sudden-death showdown with the Adelaide 36ers.
“I thought in the first half defensively we didn’t bring the energy that was required but in the second half we started brilliantly and I thought we did a great job defensively making them take contested jumpers,” he said.
“In the first half I though offensively we actually had a lot of looks, I thought we could have had 60 on the board at half-time.”
“We had some looks and if we keeping getting shots like that we’re going to knock enough of them down and put some scoreboard pressure on.”
An emotional Sydney Spirit mentor Rob Beveridge said his men could not have done any more in their final outing against a slick Breakers line-up.
“We gave it absolutely everything we had, we just played a class team,” he said.
“CJ (Bruton) went to a different level and then you’ve got Jones and Kirk Penney, - they just kept going and going.”
“That’s a great team we played today and I wish them all the best for the finals.”
Following a minute’s silence to honour the victims of the Victorian bushfires, the Spirit began in fine fashion when Graeme Dann found Knight inside with a no-look dish to spark a 6-0 run.
The Breakers’ response was emphatic dropping 12-unanswered points to take command before the hosts steadied to take a one-point advantage, 25-24, at the first break.
Sydney clung to its slender lead before Bruton connected from long range to put the visitors back in front with seven minutes left in the half.
Unheralded Spirit guard Luke Martin responded with six-consecutive points to restore order but neither side could pull away as the lead changed hands repeatedly before the main break.
While the hosts relied primarily on their interior offence for points, the Breakers did their damage from long range connecting on 9-of-24 from outside.
Bruton was the main destroyer hitting 4-of-5 from three-point land on his way to a game-high 17 first-half points, but it was the Spirit who again led by one, 49-48, at the interval.
Some inspired play from Knight and Damian Martin helped the Spirit to a six-point lead – their largest of the night – midway through the third before Penney found his rhythm to level things up late in the term.
A three-point play to Smith put the hosts back on top and when Luke Martin scored in transition the Spirit led by seven.
But an Oscar Forman long-bomb cut the deficit to four, 75-71, to set up a thrilling finale.
It was more of the same to start the final quarter as the Spirit struck first before Forman nailed his third three of the night.
The intensity lifted when Sydney centre Tony Rampton was inadvertently struck on the nose by forward Dillon Boucher, but it was the Breakers who found another gear as Bruton reclaimed the lead inside three minutes of play.
Sydney clawed its way back in front but when Jones, Forman and Bruton connected from range in consecutive possessions, the Breakers led by eight.
And it was to prove a match-winning advantage.
The Breakers (18-12) host the Adelaide 36ers in a sudden-death quarterfinal at the North Shore Events Centre on Thursday while the Spirit’s (11-19) campaign ends.
NZ Breakers 107 (CJ Bruton 30, Phill Jones 23, Kirk Penney 15)
Sydney Spirit 97 (Jason Smith 20, Matthew Knight 18, Graeme Dann 13)
Breakers vs Spirit Box Score (19KB html)
