Two crushing wins against one of the hottest teams in the history of the competition - who saw that coming?

The New Zealand Breakers last night continued to resemble the side the dispatched every challenger for three straight seasons, sweeping their semifinal series against Adelaide to advance to the grand final.

The Breakers crushed Adelaide to put one foot in the grand final.

The Breakers tonight made a triumphant return to the post-season at Vector Arena, crushing Adelaide in the first game of their semifinal series to put one foot in the grand final.

Cairns clinched top spot in the Australian NBL with a four-point victory at Vector Arena this afternoon, leaving the Breakers narrowly short of achieving their first goal of an impressive bounce-back campaign.

The New Zealand Breakers have made a splash in the prestigious New York Times.

One number consistently cropped up this week at Breakers training after Cedric Jackson's miraculous game-winning shot against Perth.

This was a playoff test for the New Zealand Breakers and it took a moment of magic from Cedric Jackson to push them past the Perth Wildcats.

There were plenty of positives to emerge from the Breakers' 93-88 Australian NBL loss to Adelaide in Auckland but Tom Abercrombie cut through the noise to find the cold truth.

Adelaide tonight won their eighth straight game in thrilling fashion at Vector Arena, emerging on top of a Breakers side who did little wrong.

The Breakers are turning inward in a bid to halt the hottest team in the Australian NBL.

The Breakers will need to topple the competition's form side if they wish to have any hope of claiming top spot before the playoffs.

If the Breakers are forced to hit the road in next month's grand finals, they will look back and rue last night's loss in Townsville.

Organisers of a Maori basketball tournament have hit back at accusations it banned non-Maori coaches and staff from entering the competition.

A couple of pieces of the puzzle remain to be arranged before the Breakers begin their playoff campaign.

Organisers of a basketball tournament have been called on to allow a girls' team to play after they were refused entry because their coach wasn't Maori.

Past history will warn the Breakers of the danger posed by Perth if the sides meet in next month's semifinals.

The Breakers tonight dealt defending champions Perth a third straight defeat this season, riding a red-hot offence at the NSEC.

As the Breakers warmed down after a long, physical training session at their Mairangi Bay gym yesterday, the team's 16-year-old prodigy, Tai Wynyard, was out on the floor practising dunks.

It was better for the Breakers to endure such a sloppy night now than next month when a similar performance could see the season end.

Oklahoma City will need a second-half surge to reach the NBA post-season but Steven Adams' sophomore year already appears a success.