Taipans Take Out Breakers
Tagged in: NZ Breakers
Joel Tiller, Sportal
An inspired Cains Taipans have claimed their third consecutive Australian NBL win in three trips to Auckland, beating the NZ Breakers 122-111 at the North Shore Events Centre on Thursday night.
The Taipans poured in 70 points in the second half to complement a mighty defensive effort, the visitors shrugging off their miserable scoring woes against the Tigers with a 35 and 35 split in the third and fourth quarters.
Despite contributing a respectable 23 points for the home side Kirk Penney struggled to find his usual metronomic accuracy from the field for New Zealand and was dispossessed four times in the first half. It was characteristic of the Taipans effort over the four quarters. Centre Rick Rickert contributed yet another double-double with 25 points and 10 boards.
The Taipans’ scoring was led by Darnell Mee with 26 points (7 assists), 16 of which came in the second half. He had plentiful support from Dave Thomas with 22 (6 boards), Ian Crosswhite threw in 21 points and Larry Abney had a double-double with 14 points, 13 rebounds.
Taipans’ coach Alan Black was delighted with the over-all discipline and tactical execution his team showed in Auckland.
“I thought we lost our way a little bit late in the second quarter – we had a game plan to get out at their three point shooters – but I thought we did a tremendous job for the rest of the game,” Black said.
“We put their main shooters under pressure and made other people beat us and we did that pretty well. Offensive, where we’ve struggled a fair bit this season we had a huge effort,”
Black said that despite last Saturday’s miserable shooting performance against the Melbourne Tigers, he’d always had confidence his players would turn it around.
“I went over the tape after the Tigers game and I thought we took the right shots in that game… We just missed them.”
“I looked at every shot we took in that game and decided we could turn that performance around pretty quickly. We know we have plenty of good shooters and I thought the big fella (Ian Crosswhite) was really good getting us some tough inside baskets.”
Indeed Cairns looked sharp from the get-go with big man Crosswhite racing to eight points in just over four minutes and Stephen Black sticking to the Breakers guards like glue.
The home sides’ chief scoring threat Kirk Penney immediately found himself under very close attention, robbed twice inside four minutes by Darnell Mee and Black. A Tony Ronaldson turnover was then punished with a three by Dave Thomas and Cairns was out to a 15-7 after five minutes.
Breakers’ coach Andrej Lemanis reacted by pulling Penney and Ronaldson to the bench in favour of Boucher and Jones and a moment later Rickert brought his teams’, and his own, tally to 11 points.
Cairns’ big men Crosswhite and Matt Smith were proving a handful forcing the hosts into foul trouble with six fouls on the board halfway through the period.
Dave Thomas hit a long field goal to follow a Black triple and the Taipans’ lead was out to 14 at 25-11.
Penney opened his account nine minutes into the match with a triple and Phill Jones and CJ Bruton followed suit. When Darnell Mee gave up a traveling violation Bruton ensured the hosts carried some momentum into the second quarter: driving through three Cairns’ defenders to lay-up, draw a foul and add the extra point, the first quarter closing 27-28.
With six minutes remaining in the second period both teams were racing into bonus foul territory on five each. Point guard Paul Henare then gave the hosts their first lead 39-37 with another intercept and breakaway.
With 3.45 left in the second Breakers big man Rick Rickert went to the bench for his second breather taking 19 points and 8 boards with him.
Bruton and Aaron Grabau shared a colourful difference on opinions after a Breakers foul and on the next possession the Breaker let his hands do the talking - nailing his second triple and then adding another for a seven point lead. Centre Tim Behrendorff then made it three triples in three possessions and with just over a minute left remaining Jones slotted his second three – the half ending 60-52, New Zealand ahead.
An Oscar Forman field goal three minutes into the third brought up his first points of the game but Dave Thomas then went on a seven point scoring run to tie-up the hosts lead complemented by Mee’s first triple. Black ensured Cairns were winning the long range battle with his third for the quarter and Cairns’ lead was back out to four. With five remaining in the third, the Taipans were riding 27-14 scoring blitz.
Compounding New Zealand’s concerns Penney picked up his fourth personal soon after and Boucher went to the bench with his fifth. Rickert raised the crowd with a flying put-back dunk for his 23rd point in the dying seconds before Dave Thomas rimmed out a long range buzzer beater. Cairns taking an 87-83 three quarter lead.
Mee drove a dagger with smooth second triple after some smart team ball movement six minutes into the final term.
With eight minutes left, the Breakers had Dillon Boucher and Forman on five personals and Penney and Rickert sitting on four while Crosswhite and Abney looked increasingly dominant inside the key. With six minutes on the clock an Abney lay-up saw the lead out to 14 at 100-86. The writing was on the wall as Breakers coach Andrej Lemanis called his fourth time out.
Jones kept blazing away for the locals with four triples for the period. But Cairns’ were now being superbly marshalled by Mee while Abney was heavily involved at both ends.
The Breakers gave up strategic fouls over the last minute and a half as they tried to chip away at the 10-point plus lead but Cairns were nerveless down the stretch, Darnell Mee slotting eight consecutive free throws on four fouled possessions.
Forman and Penney then fouled out as Cairns ran down the clock for a deserved upset win.
Cairns Taipans 122 (Darnell Mee 26, Dave Thomas 22, Ian Crosswhite 21) NZ Breakers 111 (Rick Rickert 25, Phill Jones 24, Kirk Penney 23, C J Bruton 23)
