NBL Round 7, news, results: New Zealand Breakers destroy Adelaide, Melbourne def Sydney Kings
Melbourne United was handed its heaviest loss under Dean Vickerman’s tenure as the New Zealand Breakers rained points at John Cain Arena. See all the results from the NBL Round 7 HERE
Melbourne United was left shell-shocked on its home court as it was battered from pillar to post by a New Zealand Breakers team that looks every bit a title contender in NBL25.
It was a dismal Cup eve for United, going down 113-79 at John Cain Arena on a significant night for the club, when it celebrated point guard Shea Ili’s 250th game - 150 with United and 100 previously with the Breakers - and Jack White’s 50th.
The losing margin of 34 was the biggest defeat in the coaching career of United’s Dean Vickerman.
United fans began to trickle out of the stadium at three quarter time with the Breakers leading by 32 and showing no signs of letting up.
Breakers’ MVP contender Parker Jackson-Cartwright stole the spotlight with a stellar performance to blow United out of the water early.
Jackson-Cartwright might be small in stature, but he is a lionhearted performer and he carried the Breakers on his back with 23 points and seven assists to help his team snap a 10-game losing streak to United at John Cain Arena.
It is rare to see an opposition point guard outfox United defensive gloves Ili and Matthew Dellavedova in the manner Jackson-Cartwright did so in a fearless performance.
Breakers forward Sam Mennenga was an offensive powerhouse.
Stunningly, the 22-year-old had a 7-0 run of his own in the first period, which set the tone for a big game for the former Cairns Taipan, producing a team-high 25 points.
TEEN SENSATION
Melbourne basketball fans got to witness Breakers next star Karim Lopez for the first time and could not have been any more impressed with what they saw.
Lopez is going to be a problem in the NBL over the next two seasons.
The 17-year-old from Mexico is not eligible to be drafted to the NBA until 2026 and that is great news for Breakers fans and a nightmare for opposition coaches.
Lopez’s length, athleticism and bravery beyond his years was on show as he contributed on both ends with 17 points and 10 rebounds.
NO LET-UP
Right up and down the lineup, the Breakers had winners on the night, while United as a collective had a season-worst performance.
Matt Mooney (17) and Sean Bairstow (12) made it five Breakers in double figures.
Offensively, United was out of sync, shooting 28-75 (37%) from the field and 10-37 (27%) from three.
United’s three-game winning streak came to an abrupt halt with their record standing at 7-4 after 11 games, while the Breakers strengthened their grip on top spot to 6-2.
HOT START
The Breakers were absolutely locked in for the start of the game.
Jackson-Cartwright, who had 10 in the first quarter, scored six of his team’s first eight points as the Breakers raced to an 8-1 lead.
Hard-working Mennenga kept the foot on the pedal.
Trailing 25-13 at quarter time, there were huge concerns for United, who shot an abysmal 4-16 from the field and 1-5 from three in the first period.
As much as United tried to lift the intensity on defence, the Breakers were unrelenting, building a massive 20-point lead midway through the second, rendering the second half extended junk time.
United managed to avoid its heaviest defeat of 37, which occured twice in franchise history against Townsville and the Breakers, and will need to dust themselves off quickly for a trip to Brisbane to face the Bullets on Thursday.
LOOK AT NOI: KINGS HALT THREE-GAME SKID IN STYLE
A first half explosion from Kouat Noi helped the Sydney Kings halt a three-game skid in style.
Noi was perfect from long range as he piled on 17 points in the opening two quarters to relegate the defending champion Tasmania JackJumpers to a share of last spot and their fifth loss in six games.
Averaging just six points at 33 per cent from the field coming into the contest, a second quarter explosion saw Noi score 12 of the Kings’ 14 points in the term.
It started with a three early in the quarter that saw him dapping up fans in the front row and finished with a bomb that had the fans at Qudos Bank Arena on their feet on his way to a 26-point outing.
They had more reason to cheer in the third when Noi put the exclamation mark on his breakout game of the season, putting Gorjok Gak on a poster with a monster dunk midway through the third.
The 88-60 victory keeps the Kings within range of the top two, while the JackJumpers were resigned to their lowest total of the season.
KINGS COME OUT FIRING
With three losses on the bounce, Sydney knew it had to make a statement early on.
They came out aggressive and shot the ball at an impressive 58 per cent from the field to lead by as much as 13 and close the quarter out ahead by nine.
In contrast, JackJumpers import Milton Doyle played all but 35 seconds of the opening term and took just the two shots as they failed to reach 20 points.
JACKIES KEEP DOOR OPEN
It’s been the achilles heel of Sydney’s season and it came to the fore again as they left the door open for Tasmania.
The ball movement of the JackJumpers had the Kings scrambling and helped them cut it back to one late in the second.
That was until Noi went ballistic with a barrage of threes to restore the advantage to eight as both teams managed just 14 points apiece in a dour second term.
MAGNAY LEAVES HUGE HOLE
The absence of Will Magnay had a huge impact on Tasmania’s scoring output.
After dropping 19 points in 20 minutes on Friday night he was ruled out of this clash with a shoulder injury, meaning star imports Jordon Crawford and Doyle had to vastly improve on their combined 4-25 shooting from the loss.
The duo combined for 0-8 shooting from long range through three quarters as the Kings opened up an unassailable 16-point advantage coming into the fourth.
PHOENIX CONTINUE RISING FROM THE ASHES
A rejuvenated South East Melbourne Phoenix is a perfect two-from-two under new coach Josh King after season-turning wins over defending champions Tasmania JackJumpers and Perth Wildcats this weekend.
The red hot Phoenix broke through for their first win in front of their home fans on the season, ending a six-game home losing streak, with a commanding 100-76 victory over the Bryce Cotton-less Wildcats at a rocking John Cain Arena on Sunday.
It was the Phoenix’s fourth win in five games - improving to 4-6 - since parting ways with coach Mike Kelly, and all of a sudden they are in the top six hunt.
The Phoenix’s form reversal has come without starting point guard Derrick Walton Jr, who is still sidelined with a hamstring injury.
A first-quarter offensive outburst from import Matt Hurt, who had 14 points from 6-6 shooting by quarter time, paved the way for the Phoenix, while veteran Nathan Sobey was outstanding running the point in Walton Jr’s absence with 20 points, five rebounds, five assists and three blocks.
Hurt cooled off to finish with 17 points and four rebounds, but a host of others stepped up for the Phoenix in a solid team effort.
The Phoenix came out with a high intensity on both ends of the floor, mirroring the energy that enthusiastic new coach King showed on the sidelines, as they raced to a 35-23 quarter time lead.
Sobey’s first of two first period three pointers brought up his 5000th career point, but it was Hurt, the 24-year-old team leading scorer out of the famed Duke Blue Devils program, who totally dominated the early exchanges
The Phoenix had shown flashes of what they produced in the first period on their home court this season, but nothing sustained enough to break through for a first win in front of their home fans.
The big question heading into quarter time was if they could sustain the effort at both ends and the resounding answer was yes.
The Wildcats turned to the long ball, hitting six of their first 11 attempts from three, to stay in the game.
Wildcats shooting guard Elijah Pepper showed off his sweet stroke with 10 first half points, including two threes, en route to a team-high 17 for the game.
DEFENCE UNLEAHSED
What was apparent from the first half, which saw Phoenix lead 54-44, was that King has unlocked the Phoenix’s defensive capabilities.
The energy and buy-in from the Phoenix on the defensive end was as good as it has been all season.
Import Joe Wieskamp came off the bench to deny Wildcats forward Kristian Doolittle a two-handed slam. before Doolittle was met at the apex by Phoenix centre Jordan Hunter.
The Wildcats stuck in the arm wrestle until midway through the third period before the Phoenix unleashed their fury to lead 81-60 at three quarter time.
Guard Angus Glover, who scored 17, quarterbacked the Phoenix with nine points in the third as his side ran away with a huge victory.
RISING STAR
It has been a slow burn for Phoenix forward Malique Lewis as he acclimatises to life down under, but he is starting to show why he is such a highly rated young player.
The 19-year-old Next Star from Trinidad & Tobago has shown his willingness to use his length and athleticism to positive effect on the defensive end.
But now Lewis is becoming a threat on the offensive end with 10 points and six rebounds.
BREAKERS HAND SHELL-SHOCKED 36ERS BIG LOSS
A season-high output from Parker Jackson-Cartwright was the highlight as New Zealand dominated the Adelaide 36ers in Auckland on Saturday, the Breakers blasting out of the blocks and rarely troubled on their way to a commanding 27-point win.
New Zealand put up its highest score of the season and led from start to finish to make it six wins in a row at Spark Arena, Jackson-Cartwright leading the way with an equal game-high 25 points.
The contest promised to be a high-scoring affair, with four of the top five scorers in the competition on the court in Jackson-Cartwright and Adelaide’s DJ Vasiljevic, Kendric Davis and Montrezl Harrell.
But the Sixers’ trio didn’t fire early before hitting the scoreboard when the damage had been done, Harrell also finishing with 25 points.
The result improved New Zealand to a 5-2 record on the back of last week’s win against Sydney Kings, while Mike Wells’ side dropped to 5-4.
PJC BLASTS OFF
Sam Mennenga hadn’t managed more than six points in his past three games, but the towering centre drained the first six points of the game as the home side got off to a flyer against the flat 36ers.
A venomous Karim Lopez right-handed dunk made it 8-0 then Jackson-Cartwright took over.
The Breakers had 10 points on the board before Vasiljevic made the visitors’ first bucket, but PJC fired up to have a game-high 14 points at the first break.
The skipper drove his side to its highest opening-term score of the season and the Sixers conceded their largest first-quarter score of the season to trail 33-19 at the first break.
New Zealand ranked last in the league with an average of 15 free throw attempts per game, but had 12 in the first quarter, Jackson-Cartwright with a perfect 8-from-8 from the stripe, with the home side finishing 21-from-26 from the foul line.
MONTREZL’S MOVE
Coming off a career-high 36 points, Harrell had no points on 0-from-1 shooting at the first break, as did Isaac Humphries, who slotted back into the starting five after missing his side’s overtime win against Cairns with calf tightness.
The Sixers enjoyed a bright patch in the second term as Harrell got hot with 10 points as the 36ers sliced the margin to four points.
Davis and Jarell Martin, who had 10 and 11 points respectively at the main break, were also key factors, but Jackson-Cartwright was one shy of his previous season-high of 21 points at the end of the first half.
Humphries was unable to exert his usual influence, finishing with four points and one rebound.
RAINING TRIPLES
Neither side had much luck from long range in the first half, with a combined 3-from-17, but Grant Anticevich turned the tide with three triples and Lopez another as the home side rained down four of five shots made from outside the arc in a telling third-quarter blitz.
The Breakers finished 8-from-20 shooting from three-point range, with the Sixers 6-from-20.
BROKEN TAIPANS LOSING STREAK HITS SIX
The Brisbane Bullets have come from behind in the final quarter to extend the Cairns Taipans losing streak to six.
The Bullets trailed by nine points at the final break but experienced guards Keandre Cook ( 18 points) and James Batemon (21 points, six rebounds) to help Brisbane claim a 92-88 win at Cairns Convention Centre.
The Taipans dominated the third quarter with a 29 point quarter with Brisbane’s defence blown wide open.
But the three-quarter time break came at the right time for the Bullets who reset and returned to the pressure defence to keep the Taipans to just 15 points.
Cairns Taipans rising star Alex Higgins-Titsha filled a role that coach Adam Forde was after with the young gun claiming his first double-double in just his third game.
Higgins-Titsha finished with 11 points to go with 11 rebounds and two assists.
Experienced import Rob Edwards was back to his best with a game high 27 points, to go with three rebounds and two assists for the Cairns Taipans but it wasn’t enough to claim victory at home.
Bullets Tyrell Harrison finished with a massive 20 rebounds to go with his 14 points.
The Bullets will host the in-form Melbourne United next Thursday while the Taipans will travel to take on South East Melbourne Phoenix on Sunday.
HIGGINS-TITSHA STEPS UP
In just his third game on NBL, young Alex Higgins-Titsha played more than 75% of game time and filled a spot in the guard position that Adam Forde was looking for.
Higgins-Titsha played just 10 minutes in the Taipans loss to Melbourne six-days ago, but the young guard finished with his first double-double.
EDWARDS RETURNS TO BEST
Experienced import Rob Edwards was kept to just five points in the Melbourne defeat on Sunday, it went with him being fouled out and only 20 minutes of game time.
But he showed signs of the Edwards to NBL has come to experience so far this season, finishing with a game high 27 points.
TAIL OF TWO QUARTERS
The Bullets let up 29 points in the third quarter and trailed by as many as nine points at the final break with a massive defensive breakdown during the quarter.
But a reset at the break saw the Bullets defence return to its best with holding the Taipans to just 15 points while scoring 28 points themselves.
PHOENIX RISE FROM ASHES TO SHOCK JACKJUMPERS IN COMEBACK
The JackJumpers’ NBL title defence is officially at a crossroads after a fourth quarter masterclass from Will Magnay wasn’t enough to prevent a 79-77 defeat to South-East Melbourne at Launceston’s Silverdome on Friday night.
In an ugly but see-sawing contest, Boomers centre Magnay had scored just three points in the first three quarters before exploding with 16 of the hosts’ 20 last quarter points.
But it wasn’t enough as the JackJumpers fell to a 3-6 record before a tough road assignment at Sydney on Sunday.
Tasmania shot just 36 per cent from the field as the Phoenix (3-6) ensured new coach Josh King began his tenure on a winning note.
It was Phoenix’s Matt Hurt who inflicted more pain on Tasmania’s stuttering season with 24 points shooting 9-14 from the field, while Nathan Sobey (14 points, seven rebounds, nine assists) was also influential late.
South-East Melbourne committed ten first half turnovers, but cleaned up their play to add just three more to that tally after the main break.
Tasmania’s woes on the offensive end continue to be a major obstacle as they strive to add relevancy to their back-to-back aspirations.
Tasmania led by as many as 12 in the third term but in a scrappy contest where neither team could buy a shot, the Phoenix ground their way back to within two heading into the last term.
Only Magnay kept Tasmania in the hunt to back up last week’s road win over Brisbane, but an inability to find other scoring avenues eventually told.
Magnay was stripped of the ball under the basket in the dying seconds, and a last-gasp three from Milton Doyle couldn’t find the mark as the JackJumpers’ shooting woes continued.
Both teams were horrific beyond the arc, the JackJumpers shooting 6-27 from three point territory and the Phoenix 8-28.
It was a scrappy affair reminiscent of the old school jerseys the JackJumpers wore to honour Launceston City Casino’s NBL championship in 1981.
But in a forgettable spectacle, it was the Phoenix who executed best when it mattered most down the stretch.
WHITE FIRES UNITED TO WIN
Two huge Jack White threes in the dying seconds has seen Melbourne United serve up a Halloween night treat for its fans in a hard-fought 87-83 victory over Sydney Kings at John Cain Arena on Thursday.
The Kings are not spooked by their trips down south, having won five of their past six matches in Melbourne, but United are the Thursday night specialists, making it 11 consecutive wins in that day slot.
United, led by 16 points off the bench from Matthew Dellavedova and 14 each to White and captain Chris Goulding, made it three wins in a row to improve to 7-3 on the season, while the gutsy Kings slumped to a three straight loss to be split at 5-5.
You could sense the importance of the game from the outset with the amount of yapping over calls from both of the benches.
The coaches were on the money though with both United coach Dean Vickerman and Kings counterpart Brian Goorjian successfully challenging calls in the first quarter.
Despite the stop-start nature of the contest early, the quality and intensity on show was that of two contending teams.
The Kings inserted a small lineup out of the gates, allowing United veteran Rob Loe to rule the airwaves with six first quarter points as United went to quarter time with a 21-20 lead.
Powerful centre Cam Oliver was the first big off the bench for the Kings and he impacted immediately in an 18-point, 16-rebound game.
Oliver had ceded minutes to Keli Leaupepe in recent games and this was a show of faith from Goorjian.
Two of the stars with NBA experience, United forward White and Kings big Xavier Cooks, asserted their influence as the arm wrestle continued in the second quarter.
United stretched its lead out to a game high 10 after 50-gamer Kyle Bowen drained a corner three and veteran Ian Clark scurried up the court to land a triple.
DEFENSIVE TRICKS
It was United’s squeezing on defence that turned the trajectory of the game with everything the Kings tried becoming contested.
But there was urgency needed for the Kings and they went on an 8-0 run late in the second to breathe life back into the game.
With Cooks taking over, the Kings started to showcase their offensive qualities, zipping the ball around to have United on the back foot, utilising a number of kick outs to find shooters in better position, but it was still United by three at the half.
The Kings came out and asserted themselves in the third with Oliver soaring for a highlight reel dunk.
The best version of Oliver was on show with the 28-year-old American showing effort and intensity.
HEAD CHEF
Cooks continued to play at an MVP level with 18 points, six rebounds and four assists, picking up the Kings off the canvas at times.
His dunk early in the fourth restored parity after United had taken a slender three quarter time lead.
With a heavy schedule to start the season, both teams needed to dig deep late and it was becoming a war of attrition with one of United’s most clutch shooters Ian Clark nursing an eye injury and Jaylin Galloway injuring a shoulder, but United clinched it with a pair of threes from White.
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