The NZ Breakers have again been made to rue missed rebounds, as the Perth Wildcats capitalised to avenge their earlier week defeat.
Former Breakers pair and brothers Corey and Tai Webster combined for 30 points as the Wildcats claimed a narrow 93-90 win at RAC Arena.
A late 11-4 run was enough to secure the victory, as the Breakers toiled on the boards, giving up several second-chance opportunities.
Breakers' power forward Dererk Pardon played a lone hand in rebounding, finishing with 12 to go along with his mammoth 28 points.
The American import shot 13/15 from field goal range, with only fellow compatriot Jarrell Brantley offering any other resistance on the boards with seven rebounds.
Brantley finished with 13 points, with Barry Brown Jr (16) and Will McDowell-White (12) the only others to finish with double digits.
The Breakers' poor performance on the boards saw six Wildcats players score 10 or more points, with Tashawn Thomas (23) and Corey Webster (19) leading the way.
Breakers coach Mody Maor was clear in his assessment of the fixture, and where his team lost.
"It turned on the glass and we gave up 15 offensive rebounds and they scored 23 points from those," he said. "This is where we lost this ball game.
"It's definitely not a good showing for us but this has been a constant thing for Perth for the last six or seven games, they've been averaging around 15 offensive rebounds a game. We pride ourselves in being a better defensive-rebounding team than this.
"We started the season off rebounding poorly and we improved a lot, and this was a very bad game from us in this regard.
"Part of it has to do with the scheme, they were switching a lot with a little bit of a size disadvantage but that's when you need to be physical, and play with heart and five players need to get in there and grab it. We didn’t do that work today and this is where we lost the ball game."
