Basketball: American imports lead the way for rejuvenated Breakers

Marcus Timmons proved himself a good buy for the New Zealand Breakers as he delivered 25 points to lead them to a 106-94 Australian National Basketball League victory over the visiting Hunter Pirates last night.

Cut by Cairns and picked up this week by the Breakers, Timmons took time to get into rhythm but by the end he was forming a formidable scoring combination with another American import Mike Chappell.

The Pirates sped out to an early lead but could not hold it at the North Shore Events Centre.

The Breakers started slowly and failed to defend with any aggression, their lack of competition for defensive rebounds allowing Hunter to profit from second and third chances at the basket.

Chappell still looked short on confidence and he was not the only one who looked to pass when he should have shot.

By comparison Pirates' forward Brian Wethers was all class, with 10 points after 4-1/2 minutes and 14 at the first break when his side led 37-21.

The Breakers continued to have trouble scoring in the opening passages of the second spell, but the defence and rebounding improved and with it team's confidence and performance grew.

Timmons had trained with the Breakers only since Wednesday and was brought on after five minutes when they were down 6-16.

He started to find his niche, scored 12 quick points and forced a change in the Pirates' defensive screen.

Others holes were left open and the Breakers managed to level the scores 48-48 by at halftime.

The match became more physical in the third quarter when the scoring slowed but the foul count rose for both teams.

Former Breaker Ben Melmeth flattened Timmons to collect his fourth foul, while Wethers and Chappell also sat on four by the end of the period.

The Breakers picked up the better impact from the bench through Ben Thompson and led 78-71 at the last break.

The result put the Breakers level with Hunter in sixth place in a tight mid-table tussle and will give them plenty of confidence for their match against Cairns in Cairns on Sunday.

New Zealand Breakers 106 (Mike Chappell 25, Marcus Timmons 25, Paul Henare 14) Hunter Pirates 94 (Brian Wethers 34, Ben Melmeth 19, Russell Hinder 17). Halftime: 48-48.