Basketball: Breakers cool on bridging the gap

A repeat of Cedric Jackson's heroics against Perth is unlikely. Photo / Getty Images

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

Was it the three points his half-court effort accrued - enough to decide the game but nowhere near representative of the degree of difficulty involved?

Or maybe the one second the game clock erroneously displayed when Jackson found the ball in his hands, leaving some Perth fans perplexed how the point guard even had time to shoot?

Actually, it was neither. It was 26 - the points differential the Breakers need to overturn in Sunday's game against Cairns if the Kiwi club wish to snatch top spot from the Taipans on the final day of the season.

Such a cold reality is a long way removed from the romance produced by Jackson's buzzer-beater, an effort that finally, in double-overtime, saw off the fierce challenge of old foes Perth.

The hail Mary play meant the Breakers not only swept the Wildcats this season but also received renewed hope of earning the No 1 seed ahead of the playoffs.

But those hopes are rather remote. The Breakers have won only one game this campaign by more than 20, and neither Dean Vickerman nor his players sounded intent on gaining the 26-point win they require.

"We're just going out to play to win," the coach said. "If it presents anywhere that we're playing so well, we'll have a crack at it."

Alex Pledger followed the lead of his boss, needing a reminder about exactly how big a blowout his side will require at Vector Arena.

"I didn't even know what the differential is," he said. "I don't think we'll go into the game thinking we'll have to win by 27. We'll just be trying to win so we have some good form going into the playoffs. And if there's five minutes left in the fourth quarter and we have a pretty handy margin, maybe we'll go for it."

Cedric Jackson, perhaps still riding the high of his last miracle and looking to perform another, raised the points differential unprompted only to treat the topic in the same unflappable fashion he displays down the stretch.

"A lot of people have been asking us about the 26-point difference but whatever happens, happens. We're just trying to protect home court and get this win."

Regardless of what happens on Sunday, Jackson's side will have home court advantage in the semifinals. And whether top spot even matters is entirely dependent on both the Breakers and Cairns emerging from their semifinal series, no sure thing judging by the form of Adelaide and Perth.

The Breakers were presented last week with first-hand evidence of the danger posed by those two teams. Adelaide came into Auckland on Thursday and walked away with an eighth straight win, while Sunday saw Perth vanquished only by Jackson's heroics.

"It was a tough weekend," Vickerman said. "We were in two close games - we didn't get the first one but we were able to execute pretty well to get ourselves great shots.

"[In Perth] we missed some free throws and you'd probably like to change that if you could. It put us in a situation where we had to make a crazy shot to win it, but we were pretty happy with the way we executed."

Jackson's numbers

Average points

14.5

Average assists

6

Total steals

2.2

Total turnovers

3.3