KEY POINTS:
An ankle injury to star point guard CJ Bruton has taken some of the gloss off the Breakers' first win in Perth against the Wildcats.
The come-from-behind win on Saturday night in what was another tempestuous match between the fierce rivals, helped the second-placed Breakers keep the pressure on ANBL leader South Dragons, who beat the Townsville Crocodiles to stay a win ahead of the 15-4 New Zealand club.
But the Breakers now have a nervous wait while the seriousness of key figure Bruton's upper ankle injury is assessed. The team was due back in Auckland late last night, with Bruton to undergo an MRI scan.
The injury meant the Boomers' playmaker was unable to play for much of the second half but that didn't stop the Tony Ronaldson-inspired Breakers rolling right over the Wildcats, reversing a 10 point deficit to run out convincing 118-94 winners.
Ronaldson had 31 points against his former club, while Kirk Penney was also back to his best with 32.
The nature of the performance, with the Breakers having to withstand a furious Perth first quarter in which Peter Crawford hit a remarkable six three pointers, indicated the Breakers would be a genuine threat in the post season, coach Andrej Lemanis said.
"It was the sort of performance that will hold us in good stead for the playoffs. In the playoffs you go into tough places on the road for tough games. We showed that we can handle that situation. We played well.
"It was a hostile environment against a good team and we came out and kept chipping away."
Crawford's sharp-shooting helped the Wildcats to a 34-30 lead at the first break and by halftime they had extended that to 61-51.
But the Breakers produced their trademark second-half defensive lockdown, limiting Perth to just nine points in the third quarter to claim a 74-70 lead heading into the final quarter. A 44-point final quarter explosion carried the Breakers to what in the end was a remarkably comfortable victory.
The result confirmed the Breakers are back on their game after a five-game winning run was snapped by a shock defeat at home by the Townsville Crocodiles a fortnight ago.
"We spoke about that [game]," Lemanis said. "We wanted to wash that one off us and let it go down the drain. We considered it a blip on the radar and the last two games perhaps show that it was."
A third straight defeat to the Breakers was too much for Perth's Luke Kendall, who was ejected in the fourth quarter after copping two technical fouls for arguing with officials.
Penney's return to form was another bonus for the Breakers. Lemanis said the prolific shooting guard showed no signs of the thumb and foot injuries that had been hampering him recently.
Bruton was the only concern ahead of the team's next assignment, a two-game road trip against the Hawks and Spirit on January 2 and 3.
"We don't know but not good," was how Lemanis assessed the damage to Bruton's ankle. "It is certainly serious."
