Basketball: Breakers unable to overhaul Tigers' headstart

The Breakers allowed the Melbourne Tigers an early lead they were never able to overhaul as they slumped 109-93 in their second to last game of the season in Auckland last night.

They were competitive against the second-placed side in the Australian league and get another chance to prove themselves when the two sides meet again at Trusts Stadium on Saturday.

There were top performances from Rich Melzer with 21 points and Ben Pepper, 19 and eight rebounds. But the Tigers enjoyed a height and experience advantage and were in control throughout.

Driven on by a small but vocal crowd, the Breakers played some tough defence in the opening period and rebounded well but a lack of accuracy on attack cost them and the Tigers had a 12-4 lead by the fifth minute.

Breakers coach Andrej Lemanis used back-up centre Tim Behrendorff with Ben Pepper to counter the Tigers' size but the poor shooting continued and they slipped to a 33-17 deficit by the first break.

Their combination improved markedly in the second 12 minutes. Both teams went to their bench, the home side better at maintaining their intensity. Both Pepper and forward Rich Melzer ran hot, helping the Breakers to close the score to 62-51 by halftime, Pepper scoring 15 and taking six rebounds.

The Tigers and Breakers had each sunk 22 field goals, Melbourne from 34 shots and the home team from 55. The visitors collected 13 of 16 from the free-throw line, the Breakers five from eight.

So they were right in it despite their slow start.

Melbourne starting guard Dave Thomas left the court mid-third period after falling badly on his left knee. But their organisation didn't falter and they extended their lead again to 86-70 by the third break.

The Breakers showed they still had the desire by forcing Melbourne to two shot-clock violations, but they couldn't halt the scoring run of the visitors. Nor could they sink the vital hoops, finishing with a 39 per cent average from the field compared with the Tigers' 53 per cent.

Melbourne continued to sink more of their free shots and despite the Breakers' enthusiasm to force turnovers they could not close the gap to better than 10 points at any stage.