Melbourne United 82-91 NZ Breakers

The win streak continues after the Breakers, fourth placed by a hair, strolled into Melbourne and beat the minor premiers on their home court. In a high energy game that saw a healthy dose of controversy, as is always the case between these two, and a fair bit of see-sawing on the scoreboard, ultimately it was a championship level fourth quarter of defence from NZB that made the difference.

First off, Alex Pledger was good to go. He’d been in doubt with illness but would find his way onto the starting five and his rebounding was a major factor in the victory. As well as that, a day removed from becoming a father Corey Webster returned to the team.

This was the third time in a row that the two teams have met, the Breakers winning those two (one home and one away) to close out the regular season. But those games each featured a number of rested players and as such we really didn’t know what to expect from this series. The best bet we had was the fascinating game they played in Melbourne early in the season, famous in NZ for a Chris Goulding flop that swung the game late on. This one… this one didn’t start all that close.

Cedric Jackson, whose three point shooting has been so much better (and more aggressive) recently, got things started with a bomb after a pair of offensive boards. Getting those second chance shots is a strength of the Breakers and a weakness of Melly, that’s a huge thing to watch this series. Both teams were moving the ball well to start and looking to get off to a quick start with some statement jumpers. But only one team was making them. Chris Goulding missed a couple threes under coverage from Corey Webster, who himself started well offensively with a slick pump fake and mid-ranger.

Yet it wasn’t one of the highlight stars that was leading the show, it was the team’s oldest veteran. Mika Vukona was immense to start, he was incredible. Within the first four minutes he had 2 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and a steal. The Breakers started with some serious intensity and they even made their first two free throws! Credit Catfish Jackson for that, suddenly NZB are up 19-4 already.

After some solid performances the last couple games, Shea Ili got a few first quarter minutes. Big boost for him, he has the potential to be a real energy dude off the bench, though his first contribution was to get burnt off the dribble by Goulding. He made up for that next play by catching a lazy bit of defending off guard, catching the ball in the corner but faking and running it inside for a layup. A youngster like that you’ve gotta force him to take the tougher shot.

But as the benches came in, Melbourne found their feet. Hakim Warrick changed things for Melly, his all-round versatility makes him a tough player to shut down. A 10-2 MU run closed things right up again (it helped that they stopped turning the ball over at the top of the key), though Tai Wesley struck last for a 27-16 first quarter lead.

Webster struck swiftly from deep in the second, but so had Todd Blanchfield already. Webster vs Goulding should be the main battle of this series. Arguably the two most NBA-ready players in the league, they share a lot of similarities in how they score and the focus on their trying to defend each other was captivating too... until they stopped guarding each other for a while. Corey had looked good on him in the first, really keyed in, though later in the game Goulding would punish him more than a few times for standing off. But a schematic switch to a 3-2 zone defence put a temporary end to that. With such a defence, it can be tough to box out and that leads to bonus rebounds, but the Breakers were getting those already. It worked, as the Breakers slowed down trying tried to pump it inside where they were repeatedly pressured and unsuccessful. Stephen Holt closed it up with an and-1. Hakim Warrick kept scoring. Now it was a 33-28 game. Then Warrick added two more, he made shots on back to back possessions guarded by Alex Pledger, the first time getting him in the post and the second dropping off for a jumper.

Around this time the game really got frustrating. Warrick was bossing it but he was also throwing elbows all over the place and getting away with it. At the same time Catfish was called for a phantom third foul and that trend kept up for a while. Some genuinely strange refereeing which to be fair to Melbourne they made work for them by being positive and forcing the defence to take action, while the Breakers weren’t committing markers well enough. Some stupid fouls to add to the imaginary ones and Melbourne now led, going up on a CG43 three. Cedric had a few considered words with the refs but next thing Webster was called for a foul after Goulding tripped on his own shoelaces. Warrick had 15 points at the half and Melbourne were up 41-38. Cedric had 9, Goulding had 9.

The third began with Holt and Goulding trebles, not an ideal start, but then Vukona picked up where he left off with the starting unit in the first quarter. He and Abercrombie combined for the Breakers first 11 points of the third and although Goulding was getting frighteningly hot, a Cedric eurostep layup then but NZB back in front, 53-52. Melbourne had a few unlucky misses bouncing clear off the rim but so it goes.

One guy who wasn’t much of a factor was First Team All-NBL point forward Daniel Kickert. In fact he was playing kinda crap and you can give Mika Vukona even more praise for that. The Breakers, with their steals and off-boards, were taking far more field goal attempts yet the score was nearly level. Melly with the better percentages and way more foul shots (which evened out in the fourth). Pledge fell asleep on Warrick in a late shot clock set to gift a couple points and then Reuben Te Rangi made a three. Hell yeah he did. Breakers lead 62-58 after 3Q.

It took one minute into the fourth for Catfish to foul out. Some poor calls and some good calls, he just hasn’t found the physical balance yet, which is a shame because when he’s out there he’s so handy. Even in his 6:17 of court time he still scored 8 points with a couple rebounds. Tai Wesley also fouled out but not until there were 71 seconds to play. He had an exasperating night too with only 4 points.

The other bigs though. Mika and Pledger were inhaling offensive boards. Between them they’d end with 12, Melbourne never could find a way to help that. Cedric Jackson was zoned in and Webster, who had been 3/11 from FG in the first three Qs, started to drive effectively past the perimeter D. Really focussed and dominant defence, after a three with 8:24 left Goulding wouldn’t score another point.

There was a weird moment when a near-turnover ended with Abercrombie on the floor recovering the loose ball. But before he could call a timeout (actually he had the time, he just didn’t do it), Chris Goulding tried to be a smartass and pushed his foot down over the sideline. Now, that’s a foul. You can’t do that. But the refs got confused over it and went to have a look-see on the laptops, after which they changed the call to a foul. That happens to be another thing you can’t do, change the call after a replay review, which got Dean Demopoulos arguing. The right call was made but by the wrong process. Everyone gets mad, nice one refs.

Anyway, the Breakers lead was up to 81-72 with two mins remaining. Holt made a couple FTs and then CEDRIC FOR THREE. Warrick responded immediately with a powerful slam dunk. From there the foul game started. The Breakers’ biggest weakness all season and that’s what they had to overcome to win this crucial first game of the playoffs. Cedric missed two in a row to make it nervy, however multiple three point attempts didn’t land for Melly, a make would’ve made it a three point game. No good, then Mika went 2/2 at the line. Holt drilled a triple but then some quick passing dodged the foul and Pledger dunked. That’s one way to beat the free throw line, sure. Tom Abercrombie added the icing on the cake with a final dunk and the Breakers claimed it.

Goulding scored 23 shooting 7 of 21. Warrick had 24 and 14r. Stephen Holt shot only 3/14 for 13 points and Kickert scored just 6. For the Breakers it was Cedric’s 20 points that led the way, followed by Abercrombie’s 16, Webster’s 14 and Pledger’s 8 points and 12 boards. But the box score shone mostly on Mika Vukona, 11 points, 13 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals. Magnificent, there goes the home court disadvantage – the Breakers can win the series at home on Saturday night.

Play of the Game

One of Mika’s lovely assists and TA’s shot is nothing but smooth:

Match MVP Points

Mika Vukona – 3

Cedric Jackson – 2

Alex Pledger – 1

Up Next

Saturday, 7.30pm: NZ Breakers vs Melbourne United, Vector Arena (NZT)