New Zealand Breakers were unable to stop the Melbourne United juggernaut from rolling to a 90-76 win in their Australian NBL clash at John Cain Arena on Wednesday night.
Former Breakers import Scotty Hopson (25 points) led the charge from the Victorians, notching 25 points to spoil a milestone night for Breakers captain Tom Abercrombie, who set a new mark for most games played for the NZ franchise (355).
Melbourne United kept the Breakers at arm's length from the opening tip, leading throughout to notch their 10th consecutive win.
Guard Corey Webster was the standout for the Kiwis with 20 points, five assists and three steals off the bench, while newcomer Will McDowell-White added 12 points with seven rebounds.
After surpassing club legend Mika Vukona's hallowed mark, Abercombie said he was disappointed in his side's lack of energy.
"We've had some ups and downs where we play some really good basketball and then have some flat patches," Abercrombie said.
"We never really found our feet, all the 50-50 balls they were getting, we couldn’t get ourselves into the game properly and it’s something we have to be better at.
"We never found our physicality, we never took a stand defensively, we were a bit soft tonight which is not the type of team we can be.
"We can be a really good defensive team but we didn’t play a good defensive game tonight."
The eighth-placed Breakers move on to host Perth Wildcats at the Silverdome in Launceston on Saturday evening, while Melbourne United play Sydney Kings at John Cain Arena on Sunday afternoon.
