New Zealand Breakers have gone two wins clear at the top of the ladder after a hard-fought 82-74 victory over Wollongong Hawks in Auckland.
But, second-placed Perth Wildcats, who have played one game fewer, can cut that gap back to one when they host Sydney Kings on Sunday.
Breakers forward Tom Abercrombie led all scorers with 25 points, including 12 in a decisive final quarter, when the home side finally pulled clear.
Team-mate Cedric Jackson added 20 points as well as 10 rebounds, while Joevan Catron topped the scoring for the Hawks with 14.
The home side put the clamps on former Breaker Oscar Forman, who had got a career-high 29 points against them when the struggling Hawks pulled of a 80-64 upset in Wollongong last Saturday.
Forman managed only five points on his return to the North Shore Events Centre, the first of them not until well into the fourth quarter.
While the victory was some revenge for the defending champions, they still lost the season series to Wollongong for the third straight year, the Hawks prevailing on countback after the teams finished 2-2.
The match see-sawed from the start and the visitors took the lead into the first break thanks to a Tyson Demos three-pointer in the final scoring play.
Both teams were guilty of failing to convert easy opportunities as the Hawks managed to hang on for a 40-38 half-time lead.
In the third quarter, the teams continued to go tit for tat on the scoreboard, as exemplified by Demos sinking a three-pointer, only for CJ Bruton to respond immediately with one of his own.
Ahead 56-54 going into the final period, the Breakers increased their defensive pressure and finally began to draw away.
When Abercrombie landed his only triple of the night with three minutes and 34 seconds to go, the Breakers had their biggest lead of the game of 11 points.
AAP
Tags: nbl, basketball, sport, australia, new-zealand First posted February 16, 2012 22:52:28
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