Tigers 103
Breakers 85
KEY POINTS:
The Breakers' position in the top two of the ANBL standings hangs by a thread after last night's heavy defeat to the third-placed Melbourne Tigers.
The two sides now have an identical 16-8 record with the Breakers needing to win tomorrow's return match in Melbourne to regain second position on the ladder outright.
With a place in the top two on the line, the intensity of the game matched the high-stakes clash. In the physical, at times ill-tempered affair, the Tigers' potent offence and dominance of the boards proved too much for the home side.
The Tigers' scoring was shared evenly between Daryl Corletto, Chris Anstey, Ebi Ere and Dave Thomas while Kirk Penney was easily the best for the Breakers, notching up 30 points.
Breakers' point guard CJ Bruton suffered a further complication in his bid to return to full fitness following an ankle injury, when it was revealed before tip-off that he had injured his left thumb.
Fitted out with a protective guard, the gutsy Australian still took the court but was limited to forays off the bench with his contribution well down on what fans have come to expect.
After a physical opening to the match, the home side matched the Tigers for much of the first quarter with the score locked at 29-all at the first break.
But coach Andrej Lemanis would not have been happy his side allowed the Tigers a number of second-chance points through put-backs.
The Tigers got the jump in the second period, opening with a 7-2 run to take a 36-31 lead.
But their composure was soon to be tested after centre Anstey claimed to have copped a deliberate blow to the face from Paul Henare.
Anstey tried to get his own back on Henare a short time later, delivering a cheap shot to the Kiwi point-guard, which resulted in a turnover to the Breakers and a minor skirmish between the pair.
The incident worked only to spur the Breakers on, with the New Zealand side taking a 46-41 lead soon after.
The Breakers would have held a four-point lead at halftime but for a last-second foul called on Tony Ronaldson, who was ruled to have infringed Anstey as he attempted a shot just inside the Tigers' half. Anstey converted the three shots from the free-throw line to cut the Breakers lead to 48-47.
Tigers' star import Ere exploded early on in the third quarter, piling on nine quick points to see the visitors out to a 61-54 lead, which the Breakers struggled to peg back.
With a handy 75-69 lead heading into the final spell, the Tigers did not look back, holding on to nail the important win.
