NZ Breakers 94
Sydney Kings 80
A revitalised New Zealand Breakers grabbed a share of the lead at the top of the Australian National Basketball League (ANBL) when they demolished the Sydney Kings 94-80 at Sydney tonight.
Coming off a nine-day break after tucking away a 100-79 win over Gold Coast Blaze, there was no rust on a Breakers side intent on claiming a seventh win.
They never looked back after Gary Wilkinson and Kirk Penney combined to have Sydney trailing 6-0 from the tip off.
With CJ Bruton master minding the attacks and Mika Vukona marshalling the defence, the pattern was established for a fluid-looking Breakers to lead 26-18 after the first quarter.
While Sydney tried to grind their way back through good work by Ben Madgen, Patrick Sanders and Julian Khazzouh, they lacked support from their other teammates.
The Breakers led 52-39 at halftime but saw that lead whittled down by a fighting Sydney through the third and fourth quarters.
But every time Sydney closed in, the Breakers responded though they had to survive some anxious moments after unforced errors.
Fuelled by desperation, Sydney closed the gap to four points, 80-76 with 3-1/2 minutes to go, but the Breakers, with bench starter Kevin Braswell calling the shots in attack and defence, responded strongly.
Dillon Boucher, Wilkinson, Brasswell, Bruton and Penney all found the net in the dying minutes to help their side notch what was a comfortable win in the end.
The Breakers and Wollongong share the top of the table with seven wins and two defeats each.
NZ Breakers 94 (CJ Bruton 23, Kirk Penney 16, Gary Wilkinson 16, Mika Vukona 14) Sydney Kings 80 (Patrick Sanders 20, Ben Madgen 19, Julian Khazzouh 17). Halftime: 52-39.
- NZPA
