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New Zealand Breakers vs Melbourne United |
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|---|---|---|
2018 NBL semi-final, Game 2 |
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| Spark Arena, Auckland, NZ | ||
| New Zealand Breakers | Melbourne United | |
| 86 | SCORE | 88 |
| 38 | First Half | 33 |
| 40 | Second Half | 45 |
| 8 | Overtime | 10 |
Melbourne United are through to the NBL grand final series after beating the New Zealand Breakers by two points in overtime.
Final score
New Zealand Breakers 86
Melbourne United 88
The New Zealand Breakers are in a must-win situation as they return home for Game 2 of their NBL semi-final series against Melbourne United in Auckland. Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from 5:30pm (AEDT).
New Zealand lost Game 1 on the road, which is how these series are supposed to work out, but their performance leaves a lot to be desired.
Finishing the regular season with a loss to a red-hot, yet bottom of the table Sydney Kings side wasn’t the way to enter the finals, and they were outplayed by United in Game 1.
The scoreline of 88-77 may not look all that bad, but there are issues.
Their offence seems stagnant and unorganised. DJ Newbill and Edgar Sosa have had excellent season as the clubs imports, but at the moment, their answer seems to be jacking up poor percentage threes after exploring, yet failing to get inside the paint.
Between them, they shot five from 16 behind the arc in Game 1 of the series and when you give up that many offensive possessions against the minor premiers, you’re going to pay for it.
An upside for the Breakers though is Kirk Penney, who has announced his retirement at the end of the season, but was excellent in his return from injury.
On the other side of the coin, the Breakers have often been a bogey side for Melbourne. They will be glad to have a win in the series opener under their belt, but won’t be counting on their spot in the grand final just yet.
Melbourne came into form at the pointy end of the season and didn’t look back during Game 1. While 88 points is not what their offence could allow, potential-wise, they took smart options all game with Casper Ware leading the way on 33 points.
That’s the biggest problem for the Breakers. If Ware doesn’t fire, someone will because Melbourne can hurt you in all five positions, starting or from the bench.
Casey Prather, Chris Goulding, Tai Wesley, Josh Boone, David Andersen and David Barlow all have the potential to hurt a poor defensive outfit, and while the Breakers aren’t that, they need to be better guarding the perimeter in Game 2.
Prediction
The Breakers have been all over the place over the last few weeks of the season. Their form just isn’t where it needs to be and even with home court advantage, it just doesn’t feel like they have it in them to win this.
United by 8.
Join The Roar for live coverage of Game 2 between the Breakers and United from 5:30pm (AEDT) and don’t forget to add a comment in the section below.