Gutsy Breakers overcome Bullets in OT

The undermanned and road-weary New Zealand Breakers finally have a reason to celebrate after stealing a much-needed 81-76 overtime win over the Brisbane Bullets on Saturday.

Finn Delaney (17 points, nine rebounds) drained the triple in the dying seconds of overtime to secure the victory but there were heroes all over the court - from both depleted sides - who kept reaching into empty tanks and kept finding something more.

The Breakers' woes have been well documented, they have lost home-court advantage due to travel restrictions, lost Rob Loe to personal reasons, lost import Lamar Patterson to the Bullets and lost Corey Webster to injury.

It was also the Breakers third game in eight days and their star import Colton Iverson had to overcome a sprained ankle sustained against United on Thursday to take his place in the team.

Iverson was simply Herculean in the paint. He didn't even have his regulation shoes there was that much doubt over him playing and yet he pushed his body to its limits to secure 10 points and a massive 20 boards for his side. 

His 20th rebound was perhaps the most special, denying Brisbane with just 90 seconds left to play and the scores even.

That paved the way for Delany to have the chance at the winning shot which he nailed to the enormous relief of the beleaguered Breakers.

Brisbane was also undermanned with import Vic Law and key big man Matt Hodgson late omissions with the Bullets citing injury while new signing Patterson is still in the recovery ward as well. 

That meant that Anthony Drmic (25 points, seven rebounds) secured his first starting opportunity of the season while young gun Tamuri Wigness was given big minutes to cover for the missing troops.

With the clock ticking down in regular time, the Bullets were staring down the barrel with a six-point difference between the sides but star Nathan Sobey (23 points, 11 rebounds) was electric.

He had two critical triples, a steal and a layup that levelled the scores and had the guard screaming at the Brisbane faithful to come with him.

Breakers star Tai Webster (27 points, 10 assists, six rebounds) flirted with a triple-double and had the chance to steal the game with the final possession of regular time but his fadeaway jump shot rimmed out.

Breakers coach Dan Shamir said while it was not a "coaching clinic" because of the players missing from both teams, it was an amazing effort and deferred to Iverson for his efforts.

The towering centre from South Dakota admitted he was sure he wasn't even going to play.

"I woke up this morning and I didn't think I was going to play. I was wearing a (moon)boot all morning, but where there's a will there's a way," he said.

"I didn't even pack the shoes that I usually wear in games, I was wearing the ones I wear in practice. I really didn't think I was going to play when I was packing my bag. So it was the shoes, I think."

It was an amazing show of courage against adversity and Iverson paid credit to his whole team who have been digging deep for some time now.

"We've got some guys playing heavy minutes ... they are giving it their all," he said.

Bullets coach Andrej Lemanis said that Law and Hodgson were both very late omissions, but he couldn't risk them sustaining any further injury by playing them.

He also revealed that Harry Froling had missed the previous three games with illness (including a COVID-19 test) and had basically got out of bed to play. 

"I was really proud of our efforts tonight, we spoke about it before the game that we needed to come out with certain intent and grunt ... we played with that intent, that bit can't be questioned," he said.

"For me, that is the most pleasing thing ... we were a little undermanned but there were some really pleasing performances."

Lemanis singled out Tyrell Harrison (seven points, 16 rebounds) and Wigness for their efforts. Law and Hodgson will travel to Wollongong for the Bullets' next match against Illawarra on Monday but Lemanis said they remained touch and go.

"(With Law) it was an accumulation of wear and tear from the last two to three months. It flared up on late last night which was a surprise to us but the physio said it is nothing sinister, we've just got to settle it down," he said.

"Hodgo, he was all good coming into the game tonight, his calf just started to tighten up and he said it was like it felt before the Perth pre-season game where he ended up tearing that calf and was out for six weeks. Once it reached that point it was a risk that was not worth taking."

Those looking for a skills clinic in the first quarter would have been bitterly disappointed as both teams could only manage seven points between them in the opening six minutes. 

The teams combined to open the game shooting 4/26 from the field but as the buckets finally started to drop, it was Brisbane who took a thin 13-12 lead into the first break but both coaches would have had plenty to say to their misfiring charges.

Wigness saw very few minutes in the NBL Cup but was injected into the action in the second quarter. With Anthony Drmic starting the match for the first time and Hodgson kept on ice, it was obvious Lemanis was using this match as a chance to try different things.

Webster threatened to punish the undermanned Bullets as he ramped up the aggression. Drmic smacked home two triples and added a lay-up for gravy to steal back the lead for his side. But then Rasmus Bach (16 points, five rebounds) hit back at the other end, splashing two triples of his own as the Breakers took a 34-31 lead into halftime.

A 9-0 run from the Breakers sent alarm bells running as the visitors took an eight-point lead midway through the third quarter. Sobey led a Bullets fightback but it was still New Zealand in front by five heading into the final term.

By midway through the final term the Bullets had all-but erased that deficit and threatened to take control but Weeks had other ideas with a decisive dunk and a dagger triple which again pushed his side out to a six-point advantage.

Sobey's rampage put the Bullets in the box seat but they could not find the killer blow, nor could Webster who had the chance to secure victory with the last play of regulation time - but it was overtime that beckoned for the two weary sides.

Even with 76 seconds left in the extra period, the scores were locked up until Bach secured free throws that gave his side the lead and ultimately Delany buried the three that secured the result.

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL ROUND 11

BRISBANE BULLETS 76 (Drmic 25, Sobey 23, Krebs 10)

NEW ZEALAND BREAKERS 81 (T Webster 27, Delany 17, Bach 16) 

BOX SCORE