NZ Breakers 80-72 Melbourne United

Four in a row, yo.

Playing at Vector where the team is yet to lose this season, a massive second quarter outweighed a sluggish third and the Breakers moved to 8-3 for the season. That’s good for second place on the ladder as things stand, below Perth at 7-2. (UPDATE - Melbourne went on to beat Perth on Sunday, putting NZB up to first!)

Unfortunately it did come at a cost as Tom Abercrombie pulled out of the game after picking up a quad injury in shootarounds earlier in the day. He could miss a month.

Reuben Te Rangi made the start in Abo’s place, but it was Corey Webster who picked up the scoring slack. Melbourne were coming off of a massive offensive night against Adelaide six nights previous, where they scored an incredible 118 points hitting an ANBL record 22 threes. Obviously that’s not sustainable, though Corey Webster did his best impersonation right to their faces with 11 first quarter points.

Things were tied at 19 after the first but in the second the Breakers pulled away. 33 points with 5 trebles. Webster his 6-8 from deep on the night, in case you weren’t already getting a picture of how well he played. He’s a streaky shooter, our Corey, and this was a good night. He finished with 25 (adding 5 boards), a career high points total. Cedric was the guy who lit it up in the second, he finished with 14/3/5, despite a mixed time of it with the whole field goal thing (5 of 13).

I apologise in advance to all media, from now on I'm doing my interviews like gregg popovich 😂😂
— Corey Webster (@cwebster9) November 19, 2014

Last game NZB only had 3 points in the third. Well, they TRIPLED that this game! Ok, 9 points in a quarter is still pretty rank. It allowed Melbourne to halve the lead into single digits, though they never got close enough to really get those Vector Sweats dripping. It was down to four with 26 seconds left but free throws put that sucker on ice.

The hot shooting eased off to a solid 43% from the field, while they kept Melly to 36%. Even that was despite Jordan McRae’s 24 points (it took him 20 shot attempts to get that). We beat ‘em on the boards (41 to 34) and had twice as many assists (18 to 9), always good signs for any basketball team. Ekene Ibekwe chipped in with 11 & 5, while Mike Vukona had 4/9/3.

It’s been a tough schedule for these lads. Four consecutive weeks where they had to back up on Sunday after a Thursday/Friday game and now at this stage only one other team has played as many games. That team is Wollongong, and they’re at 1-10. Everyone plays the same amount in the end so traffic’s getting a little less congested now and the important thing is that they still took advantage. 8 wins already.

After a nail biting 4th Q your SKYCITY Breakers take the win over @MelbUnitedHQ 80-72. See you all next week fri 28th Nov at Vector!!
— New Zealand Breakers (@NZBreakers) November 21, 2014

Stocks:

Movin’ On Up Like Curtis Mayfield – Duane Bailey. The big bopper finally getting some minutes! It’s a pity that it took an injury for it to happen but these things happen. Can’t say Bailey didn’t take his chance either, scoring 9 with 6 rebounds in a little under 16 minutes. He missed all four three-balls but give him a chance, will ya?

Goin’ Down Slow Like Howlin’ Wolf – Tai Wesley’s slump saw his minutes cut to 13 this game. But if you really wanna cast stones, poor old Daryl Corletto scored just 2 points off the bench on his return to NZ, on a night when Corey Webster (the guy who replaced him in the starting line-up this season) lit up the show.

Key Stat

Corey Webster’s 25 points is a new career high. His previous best was 23, which he’d tied earlier this season. He’s averaging 15.5 points a game this season. Gun.

Play of the Game

Mika with the defensive board, then the outlet pass. Cedric with the heels and the kick out to Webster. Webster with the three. Walking the tightrope just fine, lads.