Fast Break Report #5: The Day It All Clicked vs Adelaide
NZ Breakers 119-93 Adelaide 36ers
Thus there comes a time when all the worries about combinations and potency are thrown out the window. Can Kirk Penney and Corey Webster play effectively together? We hadn’t seen it up until now but at Vector against Adelaide here that duo shone through in all their offensive prowess.
It’s funny how a loss can inspire all sorts but a dominating win, there isn’t actually all that much to write about. You kinda got the feeling this might be a decent day when Tom Abercrombie made a couple free throws to start the game off, though Jerome Randle – danger man that he is – hit right back. TA soon popped a couple threes though and that was the real harbinger.
Before you knew it, the Breakers had buried seven triples in the first quarter, with five different dudes responsible. Even Tueta sunk one. But most important was that both Penney and Webster got their eyes in early and with a monster 35 points in the first Q, an absolute barrage that never really let up. This a team that had averaged 77 points a game through the first four and by half time they’d bagged 62 already. Just stunning.
Which is not to say they had it easier either, what with Nathan Sobey having a bit of a career night for the 36ers scoring 32 points with 8 rebounds and 5 assists. That bugger did a bit of everything, playing strong around the hoop but also flashing more than a little finesse about him. Although his efforts were offset slightly by what you’d have to call a down night for Mr Randle, scoring 20 points but not exerting the control that we’ve been accustomed to. He was 6/15 from the field and the 36ers were outscored by 18 points with him on the floor. Daniel Johnson chimed in with 15 points but the Sixers couldn’t get anything going off the bench, with that lot combining for only 13 points, 3/19 FG.
13 points off the bench? Mate, the Breakers had three bench players who all topped that on their lonesome. Corey Webster with 22, Rob Loe bagging 14 and Akil Mitchell’s 17. The second quarter featured Kirk from deep and the tone that’d been set in the first continued. Yes, this was going to be something wondrous. The lead got up to 23 in the 2Q and from the moment Penney made a three with 2:13 left in the first the difference was never again in single digits.
What’s most impressive is that they never let up. After the early barrage of threes, they found other ways to ensure that they kept this one beyond an arm’s length. Webster and Penney were able to ensure that there was always a killer scorer out there when they needed one and then as the second half went on, Rob Loe and Akil Mitchell began flexing – they scored a combined 16 fourth quarter points. That’s the variety they can offer at their peak. The lead even touched 30 points briefly. By the end the Breakers had scored 119 of them and that’s a new franchise record for a 40 minute game. After three losses in a row, this was everything they needed.
What else is there to say? This was a perfect offensive performance, this is what it looks like when it all clicks. Obviously this sort of clinic is not something that’s got any chance of happening on the regular but you take the things that worked here and those are the ingredients. Webster and Penney can’t each take 20 shots but this was the balance they needed to find: Penney the guy shooting at a clip and Webby the volume shooter. Penney was 9/16, Webster 7/16. In a closer game they’d have each added a few more too, but they didn’t need to close this one. Neither played much more than 25 minutes. In fact Akil Mitchell’s 25:49 was the most any NZB player clocked in this one, he made good use of it too adding 11 rebounds and 5 assists to his 17 points.
Ahh, this was so good.
Stocks:
Movin’ On Up Like Curtis Mayfield – Tom Abercrombie scored his customary 15 points here, the kind of dependence that’s seen him take an early lead in the FBR season MVP standings. But this time he got no reward for that because the team’s superstar scorers came through. Webster with 22 points and Penney with 27, that’s 49 between them. It’s not a surprise that it’s taken a bit for them to thrive playing next to each other each with prominent roles, especially not with a rookie head coach as well, and one game sure doesn’t mean they’ve figured it all out. But last season they averaged a combined 40 points per game and through the first four this time that was sitting at 20.5 ppg. This… this is much more like it.
Goin’ Down Slow Like Howlin’ Wolf – The only thing trending down here was the worry rate. Mika Vukona had a very quiet game, there’s that. He was scoreless in 14 minutes on the court and the only other Breaker not to make a hoop was Ethan Rusbatch who played a total of 118 seconds.
Key Stat
Hey, 17/32 shooting from 3pt! SEVENTEEN three pointers. As a team they shot ‘em at better than 50% and none was better than Kirk Penney: 7/8 from deep. Yes, you read that correctly. Let’s not sleep on the 31 assists that they made either.
Play of the Game
Seem to recall another Breakers point guard who used to make a thing of these kinds of passes…
Season MVP Standings
Tom Abercrombie – 8
Ben Woodside – 6
Kirk Penney – 4
Match MVP Points
Kirk Penney – 3
Corey Webster – 2
Akil Mitchell – 1
Up Next
Friday, 9.30pm: Melbourne United vs NZ Breakers, Hisense Arena (NZT)