The New Zealand Breakers extended its lead at the top of the NBL ladder on Thursday night with a stop-start 81-70 win over the Townsville Crocodiles in Auckland.
The victory came on the back of a strong all-round shooting performance from the Breakers, led by Gary Wilkinson's 22-point, 10-rebound double-double.
Point guard Cedric Jackson provided invaluable support with 18 points and seven assists, while Tom Abercrombie had another strong game, picking up seven rebounds to go with his 18 points.
Guard Eddie Gill topped the scoring for the Crocodiles, picking up 16, while forward Jacob Holmes managed 15.
The competition leaders were all business right from the first whistle. Jackson was everywhere, picking up steals, assists and points with apparent ease while Wilkinson, Abercrombie and CJ Bruton slotted confidence-boosting early three-pointers.
Running hot, the Breakers ended an up-tempo first quarter 29-15 ahead, dominating the offensive boards and running a smothering defence that shut down the third-placed Australians.
Guard Eddie Gill stepped up for the Crocs in the second spell as the Townsville attack finally started to run at the Breakers.
New Zealand's intensity disappeared and their lead eroded gradually, Crocs swingman Peter Crawford sinking a three-pointer right on the halftime buzzer to haul back the Breakers' lead to 46-38 at the break.
The Crocs maintained momentum in the third stanza, Elvin Mimms putting in some excellent work on the offensive boards as the visitors matched the Breakers basket for basket and shaded them 18-17 to go into the last quarter trailing by nine.
The home team continued to struggle for consistency in the final spell, although their stuttering attack finally looked to have sparked into life thanks to a deep three-pointer from Jackson which extended their lead to 10 with six minutes remaining.
But the Crocs battled back, narrowing the lead to just two with less than three minutes left only to see the Breakers regroup, up the defensive pressure and shut out the win in sinking the last eight points of the match.
AAP
Tags: nbl, basketball, sport, new-zealand First posted February 23, 2012 21:01:10
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