NZ Breakers have continued their dream start to the Aussie NBL season, claiming the valuable scalp of Cairns Taipans, on the road, at the dreaded 'Snake Pit'.
Trailling by as many as 10 points in the opening quarter, the visitors battled back to lead before halftime and built a 12-point advantage late in the third period, before staving off a determined comeback down the stretch for an 82-71 victory.
Seven unanswered points brought the Taipans within one with five minutes remaining, but the Breakers responded with a 10-point run of their own, including three-pointers from guard Izayah Le'afa and American forward Jarrell Brantley, to pull away for good.
The result produced a ninth win for the season - more than any other team in the competition - and consolidated their grip on second place, behind defending champions Sydney Kings.
Highly touted Cairns are still third on the table with six wins-four losses.
Brantley and fellow American Barry Brown Jr led all scorers with 20 points each, while centre Dererk Pardon compiled a 15 points/11 rebounds double double.
Young Kiwi Sam Waardenburg topscored for the Taipans with 15 points, while Keanu Pinder had 14 points/10 rebounds.
The fixture extended a ridiculous travel itinerary for the Breakers, who spent most of the last two years stranded across the Tasman by the COVID-19 pandemic.
They return to Auckland to host Brisbane Bullets at Spark Arena on Sunday.
NZ Breakers 82 (Brantley 20, Brown 20, Pardon 15, Le'afa 11) Cairns Taipans 71 (Waardenburg 15, Pinder 14, McCall 13)
