Breakers beat favourites, Melbourne United in Melbourne and take their place in 2nd on the ladder22/10/2017 Tom Abercrombie of the New Zealand Breakers smashes a dunk against Melbourne United and is pumped up. Where did the New Zealand Breakers come from? That was a question that many pundits, and teams around the NBL were left asking themselves when the Breakers upset the favourites to win the title - Melbourne United in their home opener. It was a sell out crowd at Hisense Arena, the fans were booming, the intensity was right up there and what was a round 3 match-up felt as if it was the first round of the playoffs. The Breakers play was refined and the chemistry was clearly there. Coming into the game, the Breakers had won the last 8 of 9 encounters against Melbourne and they knew it was going to be extremely tough to beat United, with the star-studded roster they have and their championship winning Coach in Dean Vickerman who led the Breakers to a title in 2015. Around the league the Breakers have not been touted as contenders but today they made a statement and showed that they are coming. The match began with strong play from both sides and physicality was the key. It was a close ball game in the first half but the Breakers dominated in the sense that they were working as a team and going hard at both the offensive and defensive glasses. Although the score was near equal, it was the Breakers who took advantage of United's missed opportunities as the home-team weren't able to capitalize, throwing the ball away and getting caught in the Breakers defensive pressure, with Rob Loe, Mika Vukona, Tom Abercrombie, Shea Ili and DJ Newbill all getting steals. The first half ended with a bit of tussle between Tai Wesley and Edgar Sosa when Wesley wanted a foul call and got frustrated, shoving Sosa on his way back to the bench. But the Breakers were able to go into the break with a 2 point lead but still needed to keep composure and not get complacent as Melbourne are very dangerous and could easily climb their way back in. Tom Abercrombie scored a team high of 21 points and made huge 3 pointers when it really mattered. The second half showcased more of a dominant display from the visitors as they got out to a big lead. Abercrombie was keeping the crowd silent by hitting back to back 3s in the first few minutes of the 3rd quarter. It wasn't until late in the 3rd when Melbourne began to get some buckets. The Breakers held stars - Chris Goulding and Casper Ware to limited points with Goulding scoring 7 and Ware scoring 6. But it was former NBA player - Josh Boone who was leading United with a 22 point game. Casey Prather still had a good night from the field with 20 points. The exposure and international experience of Breakers point guard - Shea Ili was evident throughout the game. He played tremendous basketball and showed confidence in his abilities, connecting with fellow Tall Black - Finn Delany. Every match this season he has grown and it sure looks like he has so much more to give which is a bonus for the Breakers. In the end it was an awesome win for the New Zealand Breakers who won 88-76 and proved many wrong and on the day were a much better team than Melbourne United. It was definitely an inspiring win and one that hopefully Kirk Penney will be proud of as he was unable to play, due to the sad news of his Father's passing. United will be looking to get back on the board when they play the Brisbane Bullets next Saturday. The Breakers will also play the Bullets on Thursday. Team Leaders
Melbourne New Zealand
Total Rebounds 44 38 Assists 17 17 Steals 3 7 Turnovers 17 9 Points from turnovers 8 12 Fast break points 11 11 Second chance points 9 7 Bench points 12 21 2 point percentage 53% 51% 3 point percentage 24% 31% Free throw percentage 73% 60% Field goals 42/89 49/89 2 pointers made 22/41 23/45 3 pointers made 6/25 8/24 Free throws made 14/19 18/30
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