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Tom Abercrombie of the Breakers looks to take the ball to the net. - Source: Getty
The Breakers have slumped to their sixth loss of the year with the Hawks producing a strong display to upset the table-topping New Zealanders 80-64 in Wollongong tonight.
The Breakers looked sluggish throughout and a far-cry from the clinical outfit that has been dispatching teams with apparent ease as they progress towards another finals campaign.
Tonight however, the Kiwis struggled to find momentum with their scoring as the Hawks burst on to the court full of enthusiasm, led by the outstanding Oscar Forman with a 31-point haul.
The Hawks shot ahead early and the Breakers found it impossible to reign in their score, often reducing the deficit but rarely getting within six points.
With the Breakers in cruise mode, they quickly found themselves down as the Hawks got out to a 7-2 lead.
The Breakers lacked urgency and looked complacent with four turnovers and simple errors coming from experienced campaigners such as Gary Wilkinson, before they began finding their rhythm towards the end of the first quarter.
Daryl Corletto and Gary Wilkinson landed three-pointer's to level things up at 14-14 but the Hawks maintained their form to lead 20-14 at the first break.
Forman and Corletto were the standouts for their respective sides, both on-target with their three's to have 15 points each midway through the second period, with Forman making it five from five from outside the three-point line for a 21-point haul at the halftime break.
The Breakers had it all in front of them at halftime, trailing 42-32 as the Hawks looked a different side to the one languishing at the bottom of the NBL heap.
Foreman's golden streak continued in the second half, taking the Hawks further ahead to 51-39, as tensions simmered over between the Hawks' Glen Saville and the Breakers' Tom Abercrombie, the pair continuing to exchange points of view as play resumed.
The Breakers then scored eight straight points through Abercrombie, Wilkinson and Corletto, only for the Hawks to bounce back and regain an 11-point advantage as the third quarter came to a close.
The Breakers had a mountain to climb in the last quarter as they found themselves down by 13 with five left on the clock and the much-anticipated comeback never eventuated.
The Breakers don't have long to wait to attempt revenge, as they face the Hawks again on Thursday night, as they look to resume their winning ways in front of their loyal North Shore Events Centre crowd.
Breakers: 64
Hawks: 80
