The New Zealand Breakers are in a sudden-death play-in game against the Sydney Kings for the right to make the NBL play-offs after losing 76-70 to the Adelaide 36ers tonight.
Already badly hamstrung by injury this season, their casualty list has just got worse, Finn Delany unable to play due to back spasms suffered this morning and guard Will McDowell-White, a key offensive player, dislocating a shoulder in the fourth quarter to rule him out for the season.
It was almost the worst possible result for the Breakers, who needed to win by at least five to finish fourth. If they had lost by fewer than five they would have hosted the Kings in what is a replay of last year’s grand final.
Heading into the game as favourites after a meritorious win over Brisbane in Auckland on Friday night, the Breakers were out-hustled by Adelaide, with Dejan Vasiljevic leading all scorers with 25 points and 14 rebounds.
A problem all season, the Breakers’ inability to dominate on the glass again cost them and it meant their 10-0 run in the second quarter came to nothing.
They showed grit in the final quarter, when cutting into the 36ers’ lead which was out to 16 points.
Narrowing the deficit to five points with defensive pressure with just over a minute to go, a Parker Jackson-Cartwright three narrowed it to three points and the Breakers got the ball back, only for Tom Abercrombie to miss a dunk, although he had cause to wonder why he didn’t get a foul call.
A Jackson-Cartwright technical after a foul was called against the Breakers didn’t help, the 36ers taking advantage and both Abercrombie and Le’afa (twice) missing three-point attempts down the stretch.
Down 37-35 at halftime, the Breakers picked a bad time to have their worst third quarter of the season – scoring just 12 points.
With Jackson-Cartwright, who top scored for the Breakers with 24 points, leading their offence well in the fourth, they eventually started to show the intent required to close out the game but they fell just short, the 36ers, who finished second to last on the table and on the hunt for a new coach, the deserved winners.
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