Coming into this weekend, Melbourne has lost 10 of their last 11 meetings against the Breakers, but in their two victories, they emphatically showed why they are title favourites.
Melbourne coach Dean Vickerman thought the weekend was extremely significant for his side as the playoffs loom, but sounded a warning about the Breakers' potency come the finals.
"It means something for us – it hasn't been a great winning percentage for the club [against the Breakers]. But to split two games each with them, that's important for our confidence.
"I'm well aware of what the group is capable of in finals situations – every possession is a war against them when it comes to finals time."
Melbourne's confidence will be high after today, with United claiming their first victory in Auckland since 2014 with an excellent offensive performance; though partially aided by a horror free-throw performance from the hosts.
The Breakers shot just 14 of 30 from the free-throw line – Tom Abercrombie (1 of 8) and Mika Vukona (3 of 7) the main culprits – and Breakers coach Paul Henare lamented how those struggles put them on the back foot.
"I said earlier in the year that there's going to be a time where the foul line possibly costs us the game, and whilst it might not have been 100 per cent responsible it definitely had an impact," mused Henare.
It was part of another mixed display from a Breakers offence which has often fluctuated in its efficiency. Initially, they tried to work it inside, with limited success, before changing tack as Edgar Sosa drove and dished, finding shooters to knock down threes. Sosa handed out six first-quarter assists, with DJ Newbill profiting, knocking down three consecutive threes as the Breakers led 30-25 at quarter-time.
If the opening stanza was high-octane, the Breakers spluttered afterwards, scoring just five points in the next six and a half minutes as Melbourne stormed back. Led by Chris Goulding and Josh Boone, Melbourne were attacking the rim with success, and hitting 85 per cent of the freebies when sent to the free-throw line. At the other end, the Breakers were also heading to the line, but with far less success.
Despite those woes, the Breakers were still in the contest at half-time, but they encountered further problems after the interval. Those, too, were easy to diagnose, with the Breakers losing their defensive structure as Melbourne started to rain in open threes.
First, it was reserve guard Peter Hooley, who linked up well with Kiwi Tohi Smith-Milner to give Melbourne a sizeable lead, before David Barlow and Goulding both sank triples to make it an inerasable advantage.
The final margin was 18, with Melbourne sealing a victory that clinched top spot, and title favouritism. A re-match could soon be on the cards in the playoffs, and Vukona isn't reading much into the recent results.
"Once the playoffs start, all that is out the window – we're all on an even keel. We've got things we need to work on, and tidy those up in the next two games. If we do that, we'll be fine."
Henare too is confident that they can turn things around once the going gets tough.
"We're going to have to do it the hard way, and that's okay."
Melbourne 100 (Goulding 21, Boone 19)
Breakers 82 (Sosa 25, Newbill 13)
HT: 46-41
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