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Oscar Forman - Source: ONE Sport -
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It's the end of the road for the Breakers after going down 97-103 to the Melbourne Tigers in Auckland on Friday night.
The loss hands Melbourne a 2-0 win in the best of three semi-finals series and they now go on to face either South Dragons or Townsville Crocodiles in the grand final series.
New Zealand led by as many as 19 points early in the game but struggled to stick with the finals hardened Tigers in the fourth quarter.
The Breakers' three-point game plan came back to haunt them - managing only two triples in the second half compared to 11 in the first.
Oscar Forman was a liability for New Zealand and somehow earned 27 minutes on court despite shooting just 1-of-10 from the field.
CJ Bruton had a great game with father and ANBL legend Cal watching on in the crowd, recording a team-high 22 points and six assists.
Phill Jones backed up with 21 points and five rebounds while Kirk Penney scored 19.
Ebi Ere was the chief destroyer for the Tigers with a game-high 26 points.
Perfect start
It seemed the perfect start for the Breakers, scoring the first 13 points thanks to back-to-back Tony Ronaldson three-pointers.
In fact it took the Tigers four and a half minutes to even register on the scoreboard.
The deafening home crowd seemed to buoy the Breakers early as the offensive unit wasted no time getting in the zone.
Bruton joined the party with two quick threes of his own to take his side out to a 15-point buffer midway through the first quarter.
As well as six team three-pointers, a terrific defensive effort had Melbourne stunned at quarter time with the score 33-16 in the Breakers' favour.
A 9-2 run to start the second quarter brought the visitors back to life after some costly missed shots by Forman.
And after six minutes the Tigers had clawed the deficit back to just 10 points driven by well thought out defensive pressure.
Just when the momentum looked to be heading Melbourne's way, in stepped big Tim Behrendorff.
The biggest man on court behind Chris Anstey drained consecutive threes - much to the enjoyment of the home fans.
At halftime the Breakers held an 11-point advantage (60-49), Bruton with a game-high 13 points and Penney and Jones both on 12.
The injection of Rick Rickert back into the game after the spilt inspired the Breakers with some tough shots and a huge dunk.
But Melbourne's Ere had other plans and began to stamp his mark on the game from both inside and beyond the scoring key.
Daryl Corletto drove a dagger into the heart of the Breakers with a three-pointer from past halfway right on the buzzer, leaving the home side just two points in front (81-79) going into the final quarter.
Just a minute into the fourth period Corletto locked the game up at 81 apiece before a David Barlow jump shot put the Tigers in front for the first time all night.
Missed shots and increased pressure by the visitors saw the Breakers continue to fall behind on the scoreboard.
Melbourne simply had the intensity in the dying stages while New Zealand struggled to hit their shots.
Tigers 103: (Ere 26, Barlow 19, Anstey 16)
Breakers 97: (Bruton 22, Jones 21, Penney 19)
Halftime: Breakers 60-49
