NZ Breakers 107-96 Sydney Kings

The storyline coming into this game was NBA veteran Josh Childress coming to town. He brought with him 391 games of NBA experience (having played for Atlanta, Phoenix, Brooklyn and New Orleans) and an impressive quantity of hair, but despite a decent game from Mr Childress, it was King Cedric who reigned at Vector.

This was a highly competitive game, one of the best we’ve seen this season. The first half was a real battle as the teams fought for the early momentum. Childress did his thing, with some healthy support from the likes of Tom Garlepp (21pts) and Jason Cadee (15pts). A 14-0 run in the first quarter saw the Sydney side take a double digit lead but Corey Webster carried plenty of confidence in from his last game, hitting a few shots himself to get things back on track. The lead going back and forth in the second like LeBron James between NBA teams (jokes, we love LeBron).

The Breakers were two points down at the half but in the third they really took control. An offensive explosion and a period of shut-down defence, keeping Sydney scoreless for a stretch of five minutes, saw NZB blow out to a big lead that they relinquished. Despite a few late flourishes from the Kings. Rhys Carter made four triples, and Tai Wesley had his best game in over a month, but it was Cedric who did the real damage.

He passed 500 assists for the Breakers, something only Paul Henare and Dillon Boucher can better, and with a flurry of buckets (some slick three pointers among them) and a few handy rebounds, all of a sudden the sirens and alarms of Cedric’s Triple Double Alert started sounding. In the end he fell short, with 8 assists and 8 boards to go with his 21 points, though it hardly mattered. He was brilliant, his best game of his second NZ spell, and it inspired this side to a fifth consecutive win. A win that keeps the Breakers in first place on the ladder.

Josh Childress may have been on the losing side. That didn’t diminish what he did out there. The man is a beastly player and he monstered more than a few defenders. But despite – or maybe because of – Childress getting the top billing, Cedric seemed that much more fired up.

Childress – 24 PTS, 9-14 FG% (0-4 3P%), 9 REB, 5 AS, 4 TO, 1 STL, 2 BS

Jackson – 21 PTS, 8-16 FG% (4-10 3P%), 8 REB, 8 AST, 3 TO, 2 STL, 1 BS

Seven different Breakers had double figures. Webster had 16, Mika, Wesley and Carter all with 14, Uncle Kenny with 12 and Reuben Te Rangi with 11. That’s quality. Both sides shot over 50% from the field but the Breakers landed 15-29 threes and that’ll beat most teams. Just in case that wasn’t enough, they also won the boards 36 to 24, plus had more assist and steals too. Oh, and forget about that free throw thing, the Breaks nailed 14 of 15 Friday night.

Next up is a rematch with Sydney on foreign turf. That’s on Saturday, meaning an 8 day rest – the biggest gap between games so far.

Stocks:

Movin’ On Up Like Curtis Mayfield – Starting in place of Tom Abercrombie, Reuben Te Rangi had his highest scoring game of the season with 11, hitting three trebles. He was aggressive and finally went out looking for shots – he took 9 of them. Add in 5 boards and some quality defensive effort and this is the type of RTR we wanna see.

Goin’ Down Slow Like Howlin’ Wolf – Alex Pledger’s been a bit of a non-factor recently. That foot injury’s plagued him for months and it will do for months yet unless he wants to end his 2014/15 campaign early. Just 14 minutes for 2 points and a single rebound isn’t what we’ve come to expect from the Pledgehammer. He hasn’t scored in double figures since October 26 and hasn’t had double figure rebounds at all. Despite not being 100%, he’s still starting. The luxury he has is that other guys (namely Uncle Kenny Ibekwe) are getting things done and that eases any pressure on his own game.

Key Stat

Two weeks back Melbourne United broke the ANBL record for made threes with 22 of them. The Breakers buried 15 against Sydney and it weren’t no thang.

Play of the Game

It has to be some Prime Cedric, driving to the rim, making the tough layup. The man is a basketball marvel.

Match MVP Points

Cedric Jackson – 3

Tai Wesley – 2

Corey Webster – 1

Rhys Carter – 1

Season MVP Standings

Cedric Jackson – 20

Ekene Ibekwe – 13

Corey Webster – 13

Thomas Abercrombie – 9

Up Next

Saturday, 9.30pm: Sydney Kings vs NZ Breakers, Qantas Credit Union Arena (NZT)