Durant leads Thunder over Miami in Finals opener

Updated June 13, 2012 14:56:34

Kevin Durant won the opening round of his highly anticipated duel with LeBron James, scoring 36 points to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 105-94 victory over the Miami Heat in the opening game of the NBA Finals on Wednesday (AEST).

Durant, the NBA scoring champion, hit 12-of-20 shots and added eight rebounds to help the Western Conference champions overcome a seven-point half-time deficit.

Point guard Russell Westbrook scored 27 points, and had eight rebounds and 11 assists for Oklahoma City.

Three-time MVP James scored 30 points on 11-of-24 shooting, while adding nine rebounds, but it was Durant who triggered the Thunder's 18-point turnaround in the second half.

Durant's tussle with James is widely regarded as a barometer for determining the NBA's best player, with both also seeking a first championship.

"Everybody has to come to play," said Durant, who had 17 points in the fourth quarter on six-of-10 shooting.

"Everybody played hard in the second half. We stuck together."

Speaking of his play in the final quarter, Durant said: "I'm just playing off my team-mates. I'm not trying to force anything, I just take what the defense gives me."

Miami led by as many as 13 in the opening half but fell apart in the third quarter, and when Westbrook made a three-point play late in the period to give the Thunder their first lead at 74-73, the stadium erupted.

"I thought we showed a lot of toughness in the second half," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said.

"KD (Durant) is a terrific player, a terrific scorer," he added.

"But he's a special player because he defends. We're a defensive team."

Oklahoma City held a 43-35 advantage in rebounds after losing the first-half battle on the glass 20-17.

The Heat's big first half was the result of a combination of hot shooting from beyond the arc and inconsistent play by the Thunder, who committed eight turnovers.

But the Thunder, playing in their first championship since relocating from Seattle in 2008, opened the second half on a 13-6 run to tie the score at 60-60 with just under seven minutes left in the third quarter.

Reuters

Tags: basketball, sport, united-states

First posted June 13, 2012 13:43:49

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Abercrombie positive ahead of NBL finals

Updated April 10, 2012 17:08:29

Tom Abercrombie says he probably will not be 100 per cent for the New Zealand Breakers' first NBL grand final match on Thursday, but he still wants to be on the court.

The injury to the NBL All-Star's ankle in the Breakers' semi-final victory over the Townsville Crocodiles has been a talking point ahead of the first match of the best-of-three final series against the Perth Wildcats on Thursday.

It is a familiar story for the Breakers, whose other All-Star Cedric Jackson had an ankle injury ahead of game two of the Crocodiles series but took the court and played a big part in their victories.

Abercrombie, who sat out Tuesday's training session, says he is not feeling much pain in the ankle but it is still very swollen and he is getting plenty of ice and physio.

"If I play I'm probably not going to be 100 per cent so for me it's just about going out and contributing in any way that I can to the team," he said.

"I might not be able to do some of the things I usually can, but I'll be going out there and giving everything I've got with what I've got."

Abercrombie's ankle is big enough news that it has its own Twitter account, though the player has no idea who is behind the tweets.

"I'm a bit jealous, it's getting more followers than me," he joked.

"He's a comedian, that's for sure."

Breakers coach Andrej Lemanis said the team will not know until Thursday whether Abercrombie will be available, but they were still backing themselves.

"One of the strengths all year for us has been our depth, so regardless of who we're playing, who we have on the floor, we feel confident we can get the job done," he said.

AAP

Tags: nbl, basketball, sport, new-zealand, perth-6000, wa, australia

First posted April 10, 2012 17:08:29

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Blaze enter finals with Breakers win

Updated March 25, 2012 21:48:09

Gold Coast Blaze hammered an undermanned New Zealand Breakers 94-71 in the final regular season match of the season on Sunday night.

With the minor premiership already wrapped up, Breakers coach Andrej Lemanis rested strike weapons Cedric Jackson, Gary Wilkinson, Daryl Corletto and CJ Bruton ahead of the play-offs.

In their place development players Josh Bloxham, Dion Prewster and Morgan Natanahira were called into the side.

Blaze coach Joey Wright ran his full roster to get some form ahead of the play-offs after recent losses to New Zealand and Townsville, and they punished the Breakers with a staggering 12 three-point buckets.

Guard Chris Goulding led the shooting spree with four straight triples in the first quarter on his way to 20 points, while Mark Worthington (13 points) and Adris Deleon (14) also reached double figures.

Tom Abercrombie (15) and Alex Pledger (12) toiled for the visitors, but with the depth of talent rested for the match the Breakers could never truly threaten.

But Leon Henry (11 points, nine rebounds) and Bloxham (10 points, two assists) showed glimpses of the club's future.

The game opened as a three-point shootout with Goulding - promoted to the starting line-up - burying three-consecutive long bombs on his way to 14 points for the quarter.

Worthington added 12 including two triples to hand the Blaze a 31-23 advantage at the first break.

Deleon caught fire in the second term, peeling off 10 quickfire points to set up a commanding 55-34 half-time lead.

The young Breakers showed some pluck in the third quarter as the Blaze took the foot off the pedal, winning the term 22-15, before rallying in the final quarter with a 9-0 run to seal the win.

Gold Coast (third) travels to Perth (second) for its first play-off match on Sunday while New Zealand (first) hosts Townsville (fourth) in Auckland on Friday.

AAP

Tags: nbl, basketball, sport, broadbeach-4218, qld, australia

First posted March 25, 2012 21:48:09

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Flames book WNBL finals berth

Updated February 18, 2012 00:32:26

The Sydney University Flames have booked their place in the WNBL finals with a hard-fought 79 - 67 win over the West Coast Waves in Sydney on Friday night.

Belinda Snell led the way for the Flames with 19 points and eight points, and she was ably assisted by Lauren King, who scored 11 of her 15 points in the final quarter.

Not even a stellar performance from West Coast's Rohanee Cox, who contributed 20 points and seven rebounds on her return to the competition, was enough for the Waves to claim the points.

Meanwhile, Bendigo Spirit saw off Logan Thunder 71-58 at Bendigo Stadium in the night's other match, as Tess Magden top scored with 23 points.

The Thunder never looked troubled in the mid-table showdown, but they need cellar dwellers AIS to upset Townsville Fire tomorrow night if they are to have any chance of making the finals.

Tags: sport, basketball, sydney-2000, nsw, australia

First posted February 18, 2012 00:32:26

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Thunder fall painfully short of finals

Updated February 18, 2012 23:21:19

Logan trounced the second-placed Boomers 90-65 in Bulleen in its final WNBL regular season encounter on Saturday night.

But it was not enough for the visiting Thunder to rise into the top half of the competition, having lost to the Spirit in Bendigo on Friday night.

Sara Graham and Renae Camino scored 17 apiece and Cayla Francis added 16 for Logan, which finished 12-10 and needed two wins on its Victorian road trip to see finals action.

The Boomers got 19 points from Rachel Jarry at the Veneto Club, but their finals place has been long since assured.

Bendigo could have advanced if Canberra had upset Townsville on Saturday night in far north Queensland, but the Fire were comfortable winners 106-94 over the Capitals at home.

And Dandenong locked up third place on the ladder as it crushed the league-leading Lightning 82-51 in Saturday's early game.

But despite the thrashing, the Lightning will still host Bulleen in the major semi-final next Saturday.

Tags: wnbl, basketball, sport, logan-city-dc-4114, bulleen-3105

First posted February 18, 2012 23:21:19

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Thunder storms the Capitals in WNBL finals charge

Updated January 20, 2012 22:40:17

The Logan Thunder eased to a 13-point win over the Canberra Capitals at AIS Arena on Friday night to kick-start their charge into the WNBL finals spots.

The Thunder's 72-59 win moved them into fourth spot and are breathing down the neck of third-placed Townsville which has played four games more.

Cayla Francis turned in a commanding double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds, while Kristen Veal sunk 15 points for the Thunder.

Sarah Graham also chipped in with seven assists and 12 points.

Carly Wilson and Brigette Ardossi top-scored for Canberra with 15 points while Jessica Bibby chipped in with 12.

Canberra's struggles continue with the Capitals stuck in eighth spot.

The Townsville Fire moved up into third place with a 70-57 win over the Sydney University Flames as Shanavia Dowdell dominated affairs with a polished all-round display in Townsville.

Dowdell fired an awesome double-double featuring 18 points and 16 rebounds, and was supported ably by Jessica Foley's 22-point top score.

The Flames' loss means they sit outside the finals spots in sixth.

At the top of the table, the Adelaide Lightning kept setting the pace with a 70-54 blitzing of the Bendigo Spirit at Adelaide Arena.

Suzy Batkovic topped the scoring charts with 24 points and eight rebounds as Adelaide shot 75 per cent from beyond the arc to work its way to a 49-36 half-time lead.

The points dried up in the last two quarters with Bendigo edging the third period 9-6, before the hosts edged the fourth by six points to close out the game.

Deanna Smith (20 points, nine rebounds) and Kristi Harrower (18 points) carried the vast bulk of the scoring responsibilities for Bendigo, but found no other helping hands available to reel the Lightning in.

Tags: wnbl, basketball, sport, canberra-2600, act, logan-city-dc-4114, qld, australia

First posted January 20, 2012 22:02:23

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Heat Big Three fall at Finals hurdle

Posted June 13, 2011 18:28:00

The Miami Heat's Big Three failed to deliver the NBA title in their first year together with the team's inconsistency and at times lack of cohesion, costing them dearly against the Dallas Mavericks in the Finals.

Those American sports fans who objected to the way LeBron James and Chris Bosh left their teams in free agency to link with Dwyane Wade in Miami will have enjoyed the way the more modestly assembled Mavericks won the series 4-2 through all-round team play.

For the Heat though there was a clear feeling of falling short of their much publicised goal.

"There's certainly an emptiness right now with our group," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.

"We've been through a heck of a lot this season, where in many ways it felt like two seasons built in one.

"There's no excuses. There's no blame. Sometimes you simply come up short. All of the story lines and noise out there, that had nothing to do with this series and the outcome.

"But it doesn't make it feel any easier for the guys in the locker room.

"One day we'll probably be able to look back on this, sometime this summer, when the emptiness and the pain leaves, and we'll feel better about what happened.

"It's a special group. A lot of guys sacrificed to make this happen. It was unfortunate we just came up short."

Support for the underdog Mavericks had an extra potency all around the world with the Heat being the team so many love to hate and James, for various reasons, becoming a cartoon villain.

For Spoelstra it all seemed a little ridiculous.

"LeBron has been a lightning rod for a lot of everything," he said.

"Criticism, and a lot of the noise that's been created outside. I think it's really unfair.

"He made a tremendous sacrifice to come here, and he's been an ultimate team player. He should not be criticised for that," he said, referring to James' decision - like Wade and Bosh - to take a pay cut to join forces in South Florida.

The Heat's plans for next year will surely involve an examination of their bench options, though what will be looked at in the coming days will be what appeared to be a lack of vibrancy in the Heat's performance in game six and Bosh suggested Dallas had shown the greater desire.

"They wanted it more than we did. They played great, we came up short and that's it really. We played together, they just did a better job. They were the better team," he said.

The Heat though are not alone in being a top team who fell short of expectations and Spoelstra said he hoped the season would be viewed as a learning process on the way to better things.

"It could be that it is a rite of passage, but that's not what we were thinking about now," he said.

"But we still have a young core. It's a bright future."

-Reuters

Tags: sport, basketball, united-states

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Heat regain Finals advantage

By Adrian Crawford

Updated June 6, 2011 13:02:00

Miami tilted the NBA Finals odds back in its favour by holding off a late Mavericks surge to take Game Three 88-86 in Dallas and regain home-court advantage on Monday morning (AEST).

All-Star Dallas forward Dirk Nowitzki again came up big down the stretch for the home side, scoring 15 of his game-high 34 points in a tense fourth quarter including 10 straight, but his attempt to force overtime was smothered by Udonis Haslem at the buzzer.

It was a crucial game for both sides to win after the Mavericks tied the series 1-1 in Miami on Friday (AEST), and now the Heat have history on their side in their push for a second title and a first since beating Dallas in 2006.

Since the NBA Finals went to a 2-3-2 format in 1985, 11 series have been tied at one game apiece after the opening matches, and every team who won Game Three went on to win the Larry O'Brien Trophy.

Once again Dallas showed its never-say-die attitude, erasing a 13-point margin in the third quarter with a 15-2 run that levelled things at 57-57 and then outscoring the Heat 12-5 over a four-minute period in the fourth to tie it up at 84-84.

"This is the toughest offense we've played all year as far as how many guys they put on the floor that can make plays, not only for themself but for others," LeBron James told reporters.

"They're an unbelievable shooting team and they make you stay in tune. You can never relax or they make you pay.

"But our defence is always trying to extend offenses further than where they usually start, that's just our defence."

Heat shooting guard Dwyane Wade was at his attacking best in the first half but went quiet after the half-time break, finishing with 29 points, 11 rebounds and three assists.

James had another subdued night with 17 points and nine assists, while Chris Bosh shot better than he had in the first two games but still needed 18 shots for his 18 points, and grabbed just three rebounds.

After his defensive lapse let Nowitzki in for the game-winning lay-up on Friday, Bosh redeemed himself with a go-ahead bucket of his own off a James dish to put the Heat back in the lead for the final time on Monday.

From there the Heat's tight defence forced a Dallas turnover and, while the resulting trip up the court for Miami did not convert to points, it ran enough time off the clock that Nowitzki was forced to rush his potential game-tying shot.

"Obviously we have a lot of confidence in our team defence but it was a man-to-man defence right there," Wade said.

"It was Udonis putting his chest in front.

"We had a lot of confidence coming out of the huddle that we wanted to win this game right now, on the defensive end and get the stop, and even more confidence than if we were down two or tied and at the offensive end.

"[Udonis] ... wanted that challenge last game and he wasn't able to be put in that position, but put him back in that position this time and at least make it tough [for Nowitzki]."

James had vowed to be more aggressive in driving to the basket in Game Three after earning just six free throws in the first two contests, but it was Dallas that enjoyed more opportunities at the line, especially late in the game.

The Mavs reached the bonus with 3:21 to play and Nowitzki knocked down two freebies on consecutive trips to the line that cut the Heat lead to two points.

After Shawn Marion blocked James at the other end, Nowitzki drained a two-pointer to level things at 84 and then answered Wade's 20-footer with another two of his own.

The officiating appeared to be a sore point for Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, who was seen on the sidelines remonstrating more than once down the stretch at off-the-ball fouls called on his team.

MVP-calibre

While the Heat loaded up in a big way last summer with the acquisitions of James and Bosh, Wade has been the stand-out in his quest for a second championship ring.

The 2006 Finals MVP is averaging 29 points per game this series so far on 56.6 per cent shooting as well as 8.6 rebounds and 5.0 assists.

He had 19 in the first half on Monday night and while he scored just three in the third quarter, Wade finished strong with seven points in the final period.

Monday marked Wade's first win at the American Airlines Centre since Game Six in 2006 when Miami completed its incredible turnaround from 0-2 down in the series to win its maiden NBA title.

While Wade had Shaquille O'Neal to complete the one-two punch in that campaign, he has even more star power to help out this time around.

Mario Chalmers' superb playoffs touch continued, the back-up guard going 4-of-8 from the field and 4-from-6 from downtown to finish with 12 points.

All four of his three-point buckets came at crucial times to sink the boot into Dallas, but none of them was more impressive than his bomb from a spot closer to the half-court line than the arc to beat the first-quarter buzzer.

The Heat again benefited from Haslem's energy in the paint, but he got himself in foul trouble and was restricted to just six points on 3-of-7 shooting.

Dallas' bench was effective again, with Jason Terry scoring 15 and JJ Barea contributing some cagey defence on Chalmers and Mike Bibby, although he missed some open looks and generally had a tough time offensively.

The Mavericks were dealt a blow before the opening tip with Brendan Haywood, part of the home team's much-vaunted interior defence, ruled out with a hip flexor at game-time.

Haywood's absence meant the onus was on Tyson Chandler to protect the paint but also stay out of foul trouble, which he managed to do whilst grabbing 11 rebounds (seven offensive) and blocking three shots.

Rarely-used third string centre Ian Mahinmi was unable to provide much in the way of back-up for Chandler, playing just eight minutes and checking out with five fouls, although his two free throws down the stretch helped cut the deficit to one.

Miami will be seeking to push Dallas to the brink of elimination in Game Four on Wednesday morning (AEST).

Tags: sport, basketball, united-states

First posted June 6, 2011 12:55:00

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NBA Playoffs: Eastern Conference Finals

By Adrian Crawford

Posted May 27, 2011 20:13:00
Updated May 27, 2011 20:27:00

They say lightning never strikes twice in the same place but here we are, staring down the barrel of a rematch of the 2006 NBA Finals between Miami and Dallas. Neither franchise has been back to the big dance since they met five seasons ago but both rosters have evolved considerably since then. Let's take a look at how the Heat got there.

Chicago (1) v Miami (2)

Series outcome: Heat 4-1

Writing as a former Cavaliers fan jilted by LeBron James 10 months ago when he departed for the tropical surroundings of south Florida, it's tough to concede that his much-maligned move is paying off and Miami is in unstoppable form as a result. The Heat made a shaky start to their 2010/11 campaign despite the coming-together of James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh but the Eastern Conference's newest "Big Three" have figured it out in a big way. What was expected to be a team capable of an offensive blitzkrieg every single night poured equal intensity into the defensive end of the court as well.

Speaking of defence, it's been the cornerstone of Chicago's season after the club installed former Boston assistant Tom Thibodeau as head coach. Thibodeau was the defensive guru behind the Celtics' 2008 championship season and he earned the NBA Coach of the Year award after guiding the Bulls to their first division and conference titles since the Michael Jordan era and a league-best 62 wins, equalling a league record for wins by a rookie head coach. One of the Bulls' other weapons through the regular season was their offensive rebounding - led by Joakim Noah and Carlos Boozer, they grabbed an average of 11.8 boards on the offensive end per game with a 1.7-rebound differential over their opponents.

And as things turned out, it was second-chance points and dominance on the offensive glass that helped Chicago to a 1-0 series lead after Game One at the United Centre. The Bulls ripped down 19 offensive boards to Miami's six, scored 23 more second-chance points and crushed the Heat by 21. Luol Deng put up 21 points (including four three-pointers), seven boards and his defensive lockdown on an unusually flustered-looking James made Chicago's doubters sit up and think "these guys have got what it takes to make the Finals". Regular season MVP Derrick Rose had 28 on 10-of-22 shooting and added six assists, but the series opener was the last time the Bulls point man would make better than 45 per cent of his field goals.

Rose's shooting woes continued throughout the next four games, in which he went 32-for-98 (32.6 per cent) from the floor and even worse (4-for-23, 17.39 per cent) from long-range as his side lost the next four straight games - which was a big deal in itself considering Chicago never lost more than two in a row all season. It was unreasonable to expect Miami not to come out swinging hard to avenge the series-opening loss and it did so, stealing home-court advantage behind James' 29-10-5 night and Wade's 24. The defensive chokehold the Bulls had over the Heat's scoring threats seemed to have eroded overnight and by the end of Game Three, when Chris Bosh silenced the number one seeds with a 34-point night, Miami was moving full speed towards the Finals.

The Heat needed an extra period to push the Bulls to the brink of elimination with an overtime win in Miami in Game Four but the series could have been 2-2 if not for two missed Rose field goals from 17 and 18 feet with the chance to break the 85-85 deadlock as the clock ticked down. Wade and James had six each in overtime and Bosh added four more to give Miami the chance to close things out in Chicago on Thursday night. The visitors did just that in a surprising late comeback, erasing a 12-point margin in the final three minutes to clinch the Eastern Conference Championship with an 83-80 win. Wade struggled from the field early but he and James were both firing on all cylinders, orchestrating an 18-3 run to end the series on their terms.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out the key to the Heat's offensive success was their Big Three - James, Wade and Bosh accounted for an average of 67.8 of Miami's 89.4 points per night. But Miami's bench players have acted as energy guys on both ends of the floor - most notably the fit-again Udonis Haslem in the paint and guards Mario Chalmers and Mike Miller playing cameos at the perimeter. Joel Anthony is still playing big minutes and while he offers virtually nothing in points or rebounds, his shot-blocking (2.07bpg this postseason) is a valuable asset.

Perhaps the most telling individual statistic to come out of the series was that Rose's assist numbers (6.6apg) dipped from his regular season average (7.7apg) while his field goal attempts skyrocketed from 19.7 a night to 24.0 ... but his makes dropped from 8.8 to 8.4. If that's too many numbers to process, it can be said that the 22-year-old former number one overall draft pick opted to take on much of the offensive responsibility himself, but struggled under the defensive attention of James and the Heat and tried his best to shoot his team back into each contest. His free throw numbers stayed largely the same due to Rose's propensity to drive in traffic to the basket but again Miami got its stops where it counted.

Rose averaged a team-best 27.1ppg for the postseason but the nearest Bulls contributor was Deng (16.9 a night), while Boozer was impotent with the ball in his hands. A career .537 shooter, Boozer's field goal percentage plummeted to .407 against Miami and despite back-to-back double-doubles in Games Three and Four he was unable to give Chicago the consistent second scorer it desperately needed. With that said the Bulls shouldn't go home discouraged that their season ended prematurely. After all, they made it to the Eastern Conference Finals with a rookie head coach and a roster that had only played in that system - and together, more importantly - for one season. Chicago will likely take a lot out of the series loss and as the cast and crew all find their grooves with each other, so should postseason success.

Tags: sport, basketball, united-states

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Miami makes NBA finals

Published:Friday, May 27, 2011 7:24 AESTExpires:Thursday, August 25, 2011 7:24 AEST

Lebron James has led the Miami Heat to a 83-80 victory against the Chicago Bulls to make the National Basketbal Association finals.

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Tags: basketball, united-states

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Greatest NBA Finals Moments (NBA Hardwood Classics)

This DVD chronicles the most spectacular and exciting moments from the NBA's long history of memorable Finals series. The Lakers, Celtics, Bulls and more are all featured in this official retrospective. Bonus features on Michael Jordan, John Havlicek, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Chuck Daly, Phil Jackson and the 1970 NY Knicks.

Price: $12.98

Click here to buy from Amazon

Greatest NBA Finals Moments (NBA Hardwood Classics)

This DVD chronicles the most spectacular and exciting moments from the NBA's long history of memorable Finals series. The Lakers, Celtics, Bulls and more are all featured in this official retrospective. Bonus features on Michael Jordan, John Havlicek, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Chuck Daly, Phil Jackson and the 1970 NY Knicks.

Price: $12.98

Click here to buy from Amazon

Taipans drop Crocs from Finals race

Posted April 17, 2011 15:55:00

Cairns locked up the second NBL grand final berth and ended North Queensland rival Townsville's postseason with a commanding 93-83 victory at The Swamp on Sunday afternoon.

The Crocodiles had lost just once in 14 home games this season but the Taipans were just too much after storming back from a quarter-time deficit.

The visitors, whose best season in club history will culminate in a grand final series against the minor premier New Zealand Breakers, extended the Crocs' dismal form in playoff series in front of a solid contingent of orange-clad fans that travelled down the highway in support.

Townsville has now lost six of the seven semi-finals series it has been involved in, including the last three seasons in a row.

Peter Crawford had a game-high 29 for the hosts as well as seven rebounds, making six of 10 attempts from long range. Michael Cedar chipped in with 15 points, five rebounds and four assists.

But it was not enough to overcome cold shooting afternoons from stars Luke Schenscher (13 points on 5-of-13 shooting), Russell Hinder (six, 2-of-6) and Will Blalock (four, 2-of-5).

Cairns spread the scoring load around with Daniel Dillon (21), Dusty Rychart (16), Ayinde Ubaka and Ian Crosswhite (12, nine rebounds) all taking advantage of their opportunities.

Accuracy was a key factor for the Taipans, who shot 52 per cent from the field and 42 per cent from downtown while forcing Townsville into 15 turnovers.

It capped a dramatic rise for the Cairns franchise which was placed into voluntary administration during the 2008/09 season, until a community-based ownership scheme dragged the Taipans back into the black.

The Breakers, who are also playing in their first grand final series, will host the first of three games at a sold out North Shore Events Centre in Auckland on Wednesday.

- ABC/AAP

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Breakers book first finals berth

Updated April 13, 2011 20:10:00

The New Zealand Breakers won through to the franchise's first NBL finals appearance with a feisty 99-83 series-deciding victory over defending champions Perth in Auckland on Wednesday night.

The Wildcats managed to restrict Breakers danger man Kirk Penney to just 18 points, but Gary Wilkinson lifted to fill the scoring void, the US big man nailing 20 points on 5-of-8 shooting to help New Zealand clinch the series 2-1.

Although Penney could not repeat his 38-point haul from game two, his 5-of-8 shooting from long range was just as critical.

CJ Bruton (17 points) and Thomas Abercrombie (10) also chipped in with handy hauls as the Wildcats struggled from long range, hitting just 4-of-21 shots from beyond the arc.

Matthew Knight (17 points) battled manfully for Perth and Jesse Wagstaff and Stephen Weigh each chipped in with 12 points, but Kevin Lisch was kept to just nine points in what could be his final game for the club.

Tensions threatened to boil over early in the final quarter when Wildcats import Andre Brown lost his cool in a scuffle and struck Breakers big man Mika Vukona in the face with an open hand.

Vukona was only trying to calm down Brown at the time and the referees had no hesitation in ejecting the Wildcats import from the game.

The Breakers led by seven points at the time and never looked troubled from that point onwards, cruising to victory to set up a grand final showdown against the winner of Sunday's clash between Townsville and Cairns.

New Zealand will be hot favourites to take out the title given it has home court advantage for games one and three (if required) after finishing the regular season in top spot with a 22-6 record.

Perth romped to the title last season but its chances of going back-to-back nosedived in January when star forward Shawn Redhage suffered a serious hip injury.

Although the Wildcats battled on to cover the loss, their lack of firepower was clearly evident against the Breakers, who never looked troubled after surging to the lead early in the second quarter.

The Wildcats made a barnstorming start to the match, opening up a 21-13 lead early on before Wilkinson hit his stride.

Penney, under some close attention from Wildcats guard Damian Martin, hit a number of clutch threes and also dished off some handy assists as the Breakers opened up a 52-43 advantage by half-time.

But it was Wilkinson who dealt out the main damage, pumping up the crowd every time he nailed a shot as the Cats' defence struggled to control the big man.

The margin stretched to 11 points at the final change and the Breakers ensured there would be no fightback with a dominant last-term blitz in front of their adoring, sell-out home crowd.

-AAP

First posted April 13, 2011 19:29:00

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