Stat Line

Points   J.Ennis 29 (PER), J.Beal 19 (PER), 2 with 17

Rebounds   A.Pledger 9 (NZB), S.Redhage 9 (PER), 2 with 6

Assists  J.Beal 5 (PER), K.Johnson 5 (NZB), 2 with 4

Steals    D.Martin 3 (PER), J.Ennis 2 (PER), K.Johnson 2 (NZB)

Blocks   D.Lazare 3 (NZB), J.Ennis 1 (PER), A.Pledger 1 (NZB)

How It Unfolded

The Breakers lost their third game in a row for the first time since 2010. This one was nothing to be ashamed of however. Perth is definitely the team to beat in 2013, and they proved it with a dominating performance away to the defending champs. The Breakers flew out to a 9 point 1st Quarter lead, but in the 2nd Q Perth’s sharpshooters really stepped up. The talk was all about James Ennis coming in, and yes, he was undoubtedly the best player on the court, but he couldn’t have won this game without the help of fellow import Jermaine Beal (19pts 5 ass) and Aussie Jesse Wagstaff (17pts 4/7 3pt). The kiwi team was unable to recover from the deficit put up by these guys. Perth shot 11/19 from 3 point range (compared to NZBs 6/19). And as it looked like the home team may rally late, Ennis and co. just kept scoring. This was a high-quality game, between two likely finalists. As usual this season, there were a number of fouls, and the Breakers suffered having Tom Abercrombie, who had been expected to make Ennis, in foul trouble early on. 5 players would foul out in total in this game. Still, Pledger (16pts 9reb) and Vukona (13pts 6reb) showed some good finishing in a strong start. CJ Bruton (11pts 3 ass) and Kerron Johnson (18pts 5 ass) stepped up in the second half, and helped spark a mini comeback (along with Vukona when he could be spared due to his foul issues). Reuben Te Rangi got a lot of early minutes in cover for Abercrombie, and showed great hustle and solid defence, but his shooting was abysmal. The latter can be said for Corey Webster as well, though he was missing the workrate off the ball in his short spell. As the Breakers pushed for a late comeback, that sloppiness of their road trip returned, and turnovers were an issue. Alex Pledger gave up 6 turnovers, as he was bullied in the post by the Perth big fellas. That perceived softness is a bit of an issue for the Pledgehammer, who had an otherwise great game. The Breakers finished with 12 turnovers, though you have to put a lot of that down to scoreboard pressure. Perth was superb. Ennis was every bit as dynamic as we were told he would be, and they move the ball around so smoothly that, and with so many good shooters that it’s near impossible to defend them on a heat-check kinda night like this.

Stocks Up

Darnell Lazare – we finally started to see the stuff that brought this guy to NZ. His shooting needs refining, but defensively he is proving to be quite a handful. Lazare had a game-high 3 blocks, plus 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 6 points in a 17 minute spell. More of this and those minutes will rise for sure, especially as this team has been struggling for defensive muscle beyond Mika Vukona, who has fouled out in 3 of 4 games. Watch this space.

Stocks Down

Daryl Corletto – DC started by scoring the first 5 points of the game, but ended with only 8 in 15 mins on the court. This guy was man of the match in game 1 of the season, but CJ Bruton’s influential return, and the class of Kerron Johnson has seen Corletto spending most of the second halves of games as the third guard sitting on the bench. His perimeter shooting would have been a bonus down the stretch, but how can you sit Bruton or Johnson?

Play of the Game

James Ennis had a number of them. Clever layups, beautiful passes, three pointers and dunks. This was the pick of them:

Plus since The Fast Break Report is a Breakers fan recap, here's one of Darnell Lazare's big blocks: 

Match MVP Points

Kerron Johnson – 3

Alex Pledger – 2

Mika Vukona – 1 tie

CJ Bruton – 1 tie

Season MVP Standings

Kerron Johnson – 9

Mika Vukona – 6

Alex Pledger – 4

Daryl Corletto – 3

Up Next

Thursday, 7.30pm: NZ Breakers vs Adelaide 36ers, North Shore Events Centre (NZT)