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Breakers point guard CJ Bruton - Source: Photosport -
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A dramatic second half comeback has seen the Breakers power past the Melbourne Tigers 79-74 in Auckland on Thursday night.
Down by nine points at halftime, the home side looked lethargic and beaten until something special happened late in the third quarter.
Finally the Breakers clicked and poured on the intensity to bully the Tigers into submission in the fourth quarter.
Without injured star Kirk Penney, the hosts struggled to put points on the board for most of the game but won through their defence.
CJ Bruton stepped up big time with a hat-trick of clutch three-pointers in the final quarter to give his side the buffer they needed to clinch the result.
Bruton was simply outstanding with a game-high 32 points, including five three-pointers.
Rick Rickert (16 points, eight rebounds) and Tom Abercrombie (eight points, seven rebounds) also impressed.
With Penney ruled out, someone desperately needed to step up for the Breakers.
And who better than CJ? The tough little point guard showed what was to come, scoring his side's first seven points of the night to open an early lead.
The Tigers clawed back throughout the opening quarter, prompting coach Andrej Lemanis to introduce the huge frame of Alex Pledger for the first time in his career.
It was then the young guns all combined with Pledger, Corey Webster and Tom Abercrombie all on court at the same time.
But they couldn't stop the cool heads of Melbourne running away with the first quarter (21-16).
The Breakers were patchy during the second period, great one minute and awful the next.
Frustration was setting in as the shots failed to tumble and the only thing keeping New Zealand in the game was solid defence.
By halftime the visitors had pushed their advantage out to 39-30 with Bruton the only Breaker in double figures with 10 points.
The third quarter wasn't pretty to watch with neither side playing great basketball.
That was until a late quarter surge sparked the home side's hopes, crushing Melbourne's buffer to 54-52 with one period to play.
The Breakers hit the lead once again early in the fourth quarter as the crowd began to believe.
As time ticked down New Zealand took a strangle-hold at both ends of the floor to secure a big victory.
The Breakers (2-2) don't play against until next Saturday when they are away to the Wollongong Hawks.
Breakers 79: (Bruton 32, Rickert 16,
Abercrombie 8)
Tigers 74: (Mackinnon 13, Corletto 13, Worthington
11)
Halftime: Tigers 39-30
