The New Zealand Breakers scored a bruising 94-83 win over the Crocodiles in Townsville on Thursday night to send their NBL semi-final series to a deciding third game.
The Breakers were shocked 99-82 in Auckland in game one last Friday by the Crocs, who now need to repeat that effort to move into the championship-deciding series against Gold Coast or Perth.
Veteran CJ Bruton hit the clutch triples to finish with 18 points for the visitors, while centres Gary Wilkinson (14 points, six rebounds) and Alex Pledger (12 points, six rebounds) also had a big impact.
Dillon Boucher was also dominant in the first half before suffering a facial injury in the third quarter.
Townsville's Eddie Gill came to life late to finish with 24 points and five assists, and Michael Cedar scored 15 including a stunning 11-point second-quarter run that brought the Crocs back into the game after they trailed by 12 points.
New Zealand guard Cedric Jackson (14 points, five assists) shook off an ankle injury to get the visitors off to a solid start as he registered five points within a minute.
Townsville hit back through an impressive Todd Blanchfield alley-oop, but Boucher, Pledger, Bruton and rookie Leon Henry came off the bench to spark the Kiwis to a 27-17 quarter-time lead.
Michael and Chris Cedar put on a spectacular double-act in the second term for the Crocs, scoring 16 points between them to close the gap to four.
But eight points from Pledger, often from Boucher's exquisite passes, ensured New Zealand took a 14-point lead into the long break.
The third quarter proved a physical affair as emotions ran high amid a more committed rebounding effort from Townsville.
Boucher left the court with blood flowing from his mouth after a collision with Bruton in the sixth minute.
Consecutive baskets from Luke Schenscher and Peter Crawford, accentuated by a charge foul on Mika Vukona, then sent the crowd into overdrive.
Townsville surged within five points before two enormous triples from Bruton took the wind out of the crowd's sails and restored a double-figure advantage.
The intensity continued in the final quarter, a Gill three-pointer making the score 74-68 as he desperately rallied the home team.
But a tough Jackson fade-away and Daryl Corletto's first two buckets of the game - both long bombs - ended Townsville's hopes.
AAP
Tags: nbl, basketball, sport, qld, townsville-4810, australia, new-zealand First posted April 05, 2012 23:47:24
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