Breakers defy coach's ejection to overcome 36ers

The New Zealand Breakers have defied the half-time ejection of irate coach Mody Maor, riding a 37-point first term to secure a vital 96-83 win against the Adelaide 36ers in Christchurch.

The Breakers scored just 65 points in their last outing, against the Illawarra Hawks, but their offence instantly clicked on Thursday night after nearly two weeks without a game due to international governing body FIBA's competition window.

They shot at 77 per cent from the field and made 5-of-7triples in a 37-17 first quarter, Adelaide pegging a margin that had swelled to 21 back by eight in the second term.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Izayah Le&#39;Afa is on ?<br><br>The <a href="https://twitter.com/NZBreakers?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@nzbreakers</a> sharpshooter has knocked down 6?? triples. <br><br>Catch the action live on ESPN via Kayo | Sky Sport in NZ ? <a href="https://t.co/hHxV78Zh25">pic.twitter.com/hHxV78Zh25</a></p>&mdash; NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1730130810831847716?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 30, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

There were frustrations for the hosts, though, as captain Tom Abercrombie notched four first-half fouls and the foul differential let him desperate to talk it over with the officials.

An agitated Maor stormed towards the officials as half-time was called, his ongoing remonstrations earning him back-to-back technical fouls and an ejection.

Assistant Dan Sokolovsky took charge in his absence, the hosts keeping Adelaide at bay despite the 36ers getting within seven points in the final term.

The 36ers got within eight points in the third term but Izayah Le'afa (21 points, 7-of-11 triples) remained hot, and pivotal Adelaide centre Isaac Humphries (10 points in 15 minutes) had to sit after he too earned four fouls.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Anthony Lamb can score from anywhere ?<br><br>Catch the action live on ESPN via Kayo | Sky Sport in NZ ? <a href="https://t.co/TJo6WVb3oh">pic.twitter.com/TJo6WVb3oh</a></p>&mdash; NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1730139767197626690?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 30, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

The hosts led by 17 points at the final break but consecutive triples from Sunday Dech made for some nervous moments.

Point guard Parker Jackson-Cartwright (21 points, nine assists, six rebounds, three steals) fired up, his raids to the basket relieving scoring pressure all evening.

Anthony Lamb supported with 24 points while Adelaide's sharpshooter DJ Vasiljevic top-scored for his team with 14 points despite a tough shooting night.

While Maor was watching on from the locker room, the free-throw differential didn't change too much in the second half with Adelaide ending up taking 27 free-throw attempts to just nine from the Breakers for the game.

However, the biggest differential would come in the three-point shooting of the two teams. On the back of the 7-of-9 from Le'afa, New Zealand went 15-of-32 as a team at a tremendous 46 per cent with Lamb also knocking down 4-of-9.

Opposed to that, Adelaide went just 4-of-24 as a team with their two most reliable scoring threats, Vasiljevic and Trey Kell III combining to go 1-of-12 from behind the three-point line.

Import forward Jacob Wiley kept fighting in a losing side, finishing with 10 points and 12 rebounds.

Victory improved the Breakers to 4-7, a win clear of last-placed Illawarra, while Adelaide fell to 4-8.

Both sides play again on Saturday, the 36ers in Tasmania while the Breakers face the Phoenix in Melbourne.

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL ROUND 9

NEW ZEALAND BREAKERS 96 (Lamb 24, Jackson-Cartwright 21, Le'afa 21)

ADELAIDE 36ERS 83 (Vasiljevic 14, McCarron 11, Dech 10, Humphries 10, Wiley 10)

BOX SCORE