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Tom Abercrombie of the Breakers contests Shawn Redhage's of the Wildcats - Source: Photosport -
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A strong all-around performance has seen the Breakers come out 83-74 winners over the Perth Wildcats in Auckland on Thursday night.
Just days after losing to the Wildcats in Australia, the Breakers proved revenge was sweet on home turf.
The bully tactics of the Wildcats couldn't overcome the desire of a desperate Breakers side who led at every split.
Tom Abercrombie had a career-best game for the Breakers with a game-high 23 points and three rebounds.
Abercrombie was most effective when the game was on the line in the fourth quarter - staring defensive pressure in the face and telling it to get stuffed.
Abercrombie had great back-up from Oscar Forman (18 points), Rick Rickert (12 points, five rebounds) as well as Dillon Boucher (eight rebounds, seven assists).
In his first game as a Breaker, John Rillie had a nice taste with three points and five rebounds.
For Perth, Shawn Redhage had a double-double with 18 points and 13 rebounds.
The Breakers scored the first points of the night but successive three-pointers gave the Wildcats an early lead.
It was a grinding first quarter in which points proved hard to come by with both sides playing hard-nosed defence.
The Breakers turned up the intensity as time wore on, tearing away the lead thanks to a 20-3 scoring run.
Rillie knocked down a long-range three to guide the Breakers into the first split with a 26-12 buffer.
Things got rough early in the second term with Tony Ronaldson taking exception to Shawn Redhage's physical play.
Ronaldson picked a technical foul for giving Redhage a shove, allowing Perth to slice the deficit below double-digits.
Great team shooting kept the Wildcats close, with New Zealand holding on to go into halftime up by just six (43-37).
At the major break Forman was the only player in double-digits despite sitting most of the second quarter on three personal fouls.
It was end-to-end basketball in the third quarter with neither offensive unit firing on all cylinders.
The Breakers missed plenty of chances to force the issue late in the period but still managed an eight-point advantage going into the fourth quarter.
Abercrombie proved the go-to guy early in the fourth, carving scoring lanes from nowhere on offence as well as playing tough defence.
With four minutes on the clock the Breakers were set up well with an 11 point lead.
And with desperation kicking in for Perth in the dying stages, the home side were simply too strong to chase down.
The Breakers (5-5) go on to play the Taipans in Cairns next Wednesday night.
Breakers 83: (Abercrombie 23, Forman 18, Rickert
12)
Wildcats 74: (Redhage 18, Weigh 15, Schenscher 13)
Halftime: Breakers 43-37
