NZ Breakers 83
Sydney Kings 76
When the New Zealand Breakers last met the Sydney Kings, they were handed their worst loss of the season.
A little more than six weeks later and the Breakers have eliminated their Sydney rivals from the competition.
In a win-or-go-home rematch of last year’s grand final, the Breakers came from behind to claim an 83-76 win in Sydney and book a date against the Illawarra Hawks for a spot in the semifinals.
Import point guard Parker Jackson-Cartwright again put the team on his shoulders, with the finalist for the league’s MVP award putting up 34 points in the seven-point win, while fellow import Zylan Cheatham added 18.
“We just want to win. We don’t care what nobody’s saying,” Jackson-Cartwright said in his post-game interview on the broadcast. “It’s about Breakers basketball and Breakers family. We did it together. It’s a collective.”
As for the fact they were down on players with Mantas Rubstavicius fouling out early in the third quarter, Cheatham picking up an ankle injury and hobbling to the finish line, adding to the unavailability of Anthony Lamb, Jackson-Cartwright added: “It don’t matter. Win. Win. It’s playoffs. Win.”
It was a result that looked unlikely at halftime. The Breakers trailed by nine points, were shooting 20 per cent from long range and had only four players with a made field goal.
But games aren’t won in the first half.
The Breakers outscored the Kings 22-13 in the third quarter – taking their first lead of the game along the way – and got the better of the final stanza as well.
While Jackson-Cartwright, Cheatham and Will McDowell-White (11) did the bulk of the scoring, it was a strong defensive showing the from side with Izayah Le’afa and Tom Abercrombie impacting the game at the end through the second half.
It was a slow start for the Breakers, who struggled to break down the zone defence of the Kings in the early stages of the game.
They found themselves behind by seven after the opening stanza, and that gap was extended to nine by the halftime break as Jaylen Adams and Kouat Noi were making their presence felt for the home side.
But as they have done all season, the Breakers continued to fight. A strong opening to the third quarter set the tone, and when they took their first lead of the game early in the period, it felt like they had all the momentum.
They were able to capitalise on that and close out a strong win.
The Breakers will now travel to Wollongong to meet the Illawarra Hawks in their second do-or-die game of the post-season. The winner of that fixture earns a spot in the semifinals and a three-game series against Melbourne United, who finished the regular season at the top of the table.
NZ Breakers 83 (Parker Jackson-Cartwright 34 points, Zylan Cheatham 18)
Sydney Kings 76 (D.J. Hogg 17 points, Jaylen Adams 13)
1Q: 15-22. HT: 38-47. 3Q: 60-60
Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.
The win was the Breakers’ first at the venue since 2018.