NZ Breakers have held on for their fourth victory of the Australian NBL season, defeating Cairns Taipans 84-83 in a thrilling encounter.
An outstanding individual display from acting captain Yanni Wetzell led the way for the Breakers, who are still looking to move off the bottom of the ANBL ladder, moving to 4-9 for the season so far.
Wetzell, 25, finished with 23 points, 14 rebounds, seven steals and four assists for his evening's work, and was supported by American import Peyton Siva's 22 points. Fellow import Hugo Besson also impressed, and finished with a crucial 14 points, four assists and two rebounds.
In the first quarter, the Breakers looked like they were in for a comfortable encounter, racing out to a 30-12 lead. And even after Cairns put up more of a fight in the second quarter, the Breakers still led 55-35 at halftime.
But led by Majok Deng (21 points, eight rebounds, two assists) and Keanu Pinder (16 points, four rebounds), the Taipans came storming out in the third quarter to put the Breakers hopes of victory at risk.
As Cairns rallied in the third quarter, winning it 32-14, the Breakers lead was cut back to just two points, ahead 69-67 heading into the final period.
And even though the Breakers held an 84-72 lead with just under four minutes to go, the Kiwi side didn't score again in the match and had to battle to hold on for a narrow one-point win.
Speaking post-match, Breakers coach Dan Shamir's relief was evident, although knows his side have work to do if they're to move off the bottom of the ANBL ladder.
"No game usually goes easy the whole way," coach Dan Shamir says.
"Usually teams have their runs but for so many reasons we didn't have the consistency in the second half. But it is much better than to talk about that and try to correct it after a win."
The Breakers can take six days to implement the lessons from Monday's victory, not playing again until Sunday - facing Melbourne United in Melbourne.
