Three questions: Best Breakers performance this year?

Mika Vukona is helped up off the court after a fight broke out during game one of the NBL Finals series between the New Zealand Breakers and the Adelaide 36ers. Photo / Getty Images

Herald basketball writer Kris Shannon answers three questions after the Breakers' 29-point thumping of Adelaide in last night's opening game of their semifinal series.

Wow, where did that come from?
Dean Vickerman said post-game he knew, having watched the team's final practice of the week, that a switch had been flipped. The Breakers came into the playoffs after losing three of their last four but that immediately became a distant memory as they poured in 16 points before Adelaide made their second basket.

From the tip-off there was a level of intensity unseen during the regular season as the Breakers refused to allow Adelaide an easy shot, getting a hand in their opponents' faces and fighting fiercely for every subsequent rebound.

Mika Vukona was unsurprisingly at the heart of it, instantly entering beast mode and playing aggressively enough to entice Mitch Creek into a skirmish as early as the opening timeout. It was not the last.

Was that the best the Breakers have played this season?
Make that two seasons. You have to think back to the championship campaigns to find a performance where the Breakers were similarly firing in every facet.

They shot the ball extremely well throughout and, while Corey Webster led all scorers with 24, this was the ultimate team win. Alex Pledger was a point away from making it eight Breakers in double figures, with Vukona (12 points, 11 rebounds) and Cedric Jackson (13 points, 10 assists) particularly impressive.

The Breakers emerged on top in almost every statistical category, with their 22-4 advantage in second-chance points vividly illustrating the desire on display.

Perhaps the only disappointment was the crowd, with fewer than 4000 people giving Vector Arena a sparse feel. It was a performance that deserved twice that number.

What does such a comprehensive victory mean for game two tomorrow night?
Very little. After being caught severely short by the Breakers' physical approach, Adelaide will know how to respond in their home gym. Expect to see fire met with fire now the 36ers are aware of what will be allowed in the post-season.

Just ask Adelaide coach Joey Wright, who explained his side's deficiencies and hinted where they would improve tomorrow night.

"We didn't show up ready to fight - that's all it was, it was a fight," he said. "If the refs are going to let you get away with punching someone, punch them twice"

The Breakers will be looking to dish out a few blows of their own, wanting to prevent the war of attrition this series would become should it be sent back to Auckland for a decider on Monday.