New Zealand Breakers coach Mody Maor estimated his team could afford just two slip-ups if their hopes of making the playoffs were to stay intact.
Against the Illawarra Hawks on Sunday, they burned their first.
The Breakers fell to an89-85 loss in Wollongong, relinquishing a 12-point lead and seeing three of their starting five foul out of the contest in the final quarter.
Hitting the court in Wollongong was always going to be a challenge for the Breakers, getting back to work with no time to rest after their win over the Tasmania Jackjumpers in Auckland on Friday.
Not for the first time this season, the Breakers were hurt by foul trouble, and it started early as point guard Parker Jackson-Cartwright was forced to the bench with two fouls after less than four minutes.
The Breakers ultimately ended the game having committed a whopping 31 fouls, with key scorers Zylan Cheatham (19 points), Mantas Rubstavicius (17) and Anthony Lamb (13) accounting for 15 of those. The two teams combined to commit 50 fouls; the Hawks without the services of big man Sam Froling for the final moments after he picked up his fifth foul.
Also not for the first time this campaign, the Breakers could be left lamenting a win that got away should they end the regular season watching the playoffs at home.
The NZ Breakers rank eighth with five games left in their season. Photo / Photosport
The side started the better of the two, with Cheatham leading the way early with nine first-quarter points. Although they weren’t shooting particularly well, the same could be said for Illawarra, and the Breakers had clawed their way to an eight-point lead midway through the opening stanza.
However, that lead was whittled down by the end, with the sides tied at 22 after the opening 10 minutes.
While they were struggling on offence at times, the Breakers’ defence was solid to start the second period as they rebuilt their lead to hold a 48-42 advantage at halftime, though that was cut to just a four-point lead after three quarters.
Rubstavicius, continuing to build his stock ahead of this year’s NBA draft, made some timely baskets and defensive plays, and was the only Breaker to make more than one of his three-point attempts. But he and Cheatham fouling out were big blows to the Breakers, particularly with Cheatham carrying the load in defensive rebounding.
As the Breakers began to struggle, the Hawks took their opportunity. Led by 29 points from Gary Clark and 19 from Tyler Harvey, the hosts finished the stronger of the two sides – taking the lead for the first time since the second quarter in the final minutes and forcing a vital turnover to seal the game.
The Breakers sit two places outside of the playoff spots following the loss, though just one win behind the Hawks and Sydney Kings.
