A decisive third quarter took New Zealand to an 83-77 win over Perth and lifted the Breakers to outright first in the NBL.
Victory in the top-of-the-table clash in Auckland was the Breakers' fifth in a row and improves the defending champions' win-loss record to 15-5.
The Wildcats drop to 14-6, while the result leaves the two sides at 1-1 ahead of their series decider in Perth in early March.
The Breakers shared the scoring around, with five players in double figures, led by Gary Wilkinson with 18.
Cedric Jackson got 15 points, as well as 10 assists, while Mika Vukona also compiled a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
For Perth, Kevin Lisch top-scored with 20, while Shawn Redhage (15) and Luke Nevill (14) also got into double figures.
However, the in-form Jesse Wagstaff, who had a game-high 23 points when the Wildcats beat the Breakers 86-62 in Perth the last time the two sides met, had an off night with just two points in one-from-12 shooting.
In front of their fifth successive sellout crowd in Auckland, the Breakers produced a run of 17 unanswered points in the third quarter.
With Wilkinson, CJ Bruton and Jackson all draining three-pointers, the Breakers jumped from 46-45 down to hold a 62-49 advantage.
Their momentum was halted by a technical foul called on Tom Abercrombie, but they still went into the final period with a 66-54 lead.
Perth never gave up and there were a few nervous moments for the home fans near the end.
A Damian Martin basket reduced the margin to single digits.
When Redhage followed up seconds later with another two-pointer, it was a six-point ball game with 68 seconds to go, but that was as close as Perth got.
Earlier, on the back of some accurate shooting, the Breakers jumped out to a 34-24 first-quarter lead.
But the Wildcats, with Martin a dominant figure, upped their intensity in the second quarter, as the Breakers struggled with the visitors' offensive transition.
Three successive baskets from Nevill put the Wildcats in front and they were still there at the main break, up 44-42.
AAP
Tags: nbl, basketball, sport, new-zealand, perth-6000, wa, australia First posted February 02, 2012 20:43:07
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