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SYDNEY - Victorious Sydney Spirit basketball captain Jason Smith predicts the "vulnerable" New Zealand Breakers will continue to struggle without injured point guard CJ Bruton.
The veteran Australian international made the observation after his team snatched an 86-85 win in Sydney last night to hand the Breakers back-to-back Australian National Basketball League (ANBL) defeats.
A free throw from the Spirit's Graeme Dann with one second on the clock sealed the upset after he was fouled by Breakers forward Tony Ronaldson.
It broke the deadlock after a cool Kirk Penney three-pointer with 6sec left looked to have sent the game to overtime.
The Breakers crossed the Tasman as ANBL leaders but suffered consecutive defeats in 24 hours including the 94-111 loss to the Wollongong Hawks, both without star playmaker Bruton who is battling an ankle injury.
"They're a completely different team without him on court... there are guys who are pretty unsure with how they go about their business without CJ at the point," Smith said.
"I think they're vulnerable and you might see a lot of teams look at this win and take some confidence and try and put them under the hammer in the next couple of weeks."
Breakers coach Andrej Lemanis said Bruton's return date remained uncertain as they eye competition leaders South Dragons - who lost 90-99 to Perth Wildcats last night - in Melbourne on Saturday.
Despite the horror road trip the Breakers remain a clear second with a 15-6 record, with the Dragons 17-6.
Lemanis said he had faith in his side without Bruton. He blamed the weekend's efforts on rustiness after a two-week Christmas break, and two desperate opponents placed seventh and eighth on the ladder.
"It proves how good this league is and how tough it is to win on the road," the coach said.
"(On Friday) we were a bit off the pace, it felt like the treadmill had been going and we tried to step back on and it was going a bit faster than we anticipated.
"Tonight the defence wasn't too bad, conceding 86 points, just offensively it was a little disappointing. We couldn't find our rhythm and execution."
Last time the sides met, in Auckland a fortnight ago, the Breakers scored a franchise record 114-70 win.
Last night, before a crowd of barely 1000 at Liverpool's Whitlam Centre, the Breakers looked rusty with Paul Henare doing his best in Bruton's spot but his teammates often looking uncertain.
They trailed 43-45 at halftime and finally got into gear in the third quarter. They looked to have it sewn up when Penney sank consecutive three-pointers for a 78-72 lead with seven minutes left.
But the undermanned Spirit stormed back, with power forward Matt Knight leading the way with 18 points and eight rebounds and Smith adding 16 points.
Penney had a torrid night and crashed to the floor often, but still led all scorers with 23 points, while Breakers import Rick Rickert toiled hard for 19 points and 10 rebounds.
Penney said the weekend's lesson would serve them well.
"You don't want these jolts, but the fact of the matter is we've got veterans that will respond. This is a league where anyone can beat anyone, and we knew that from the start.
"We've had a good run and now we've taken a couple of losses. The Dragons lost tonight, it just happens. As long as you put your best effort out, you've got to live with it."
- NZPA
