NZ Breakers have thwarted Sydney Kings' bid for a second straight Aussie NBL crown - for now - winning 80-70 on their Spark Arena homecourt to force a fifth and deciding game in their finals series across the Tasman.
After a woeful performance on the same court seven days earlier and an second-half implosion on Friday, the Auckland club faced a must-win contest against the defending champions and regular-season pacesetters - and produced their best performance of the season.
At a packed-out venue, American Jarrell Brantley led all scorers with 23 points, while Aussie guard Will McDowell-White compiled 19 points, including three three-pointers, six rebounds and five assists. ANBL Sixth Man of the Year Barry Brown Jr brought 20 points off the bench, including a fourth-quarter power dunk in transition that set an emphatic seal on the result.
The result means the two teams will meet for the championship at Sydney's Qudos Bank Arena on Wednesday.
"The boys just dug deep and we're going to a game five," said McDowell-White. "We're built to last.
"We're a team that hasn't folded this season and we wanted to right our wrongs from game three.
"It will take this effort and a lot more. They're the defending champs, they've been there before... we're a pretty young group, but we're fearless."
The Breakers simply dominated the game, never trailing and building their advantage to 15 points late in the second quarter. Defensive juggernauts all season, they held the Kings to just 27 first-half points.
Sydney cut their deficit to just two points entering the final quarter and seemed to have turned momentum their way, but a three-pointer from McDowell-White and layup from Brantley got the Breakers rolling again.
With less than four minutes left, the margin was back out to double figures and the Kiwi team held their nerve to keep their hopes of a fifth NBL title alive.
NZ Breakers 80 (Brantley 23, McDowell-White 19, Brown Jr 18) Sydney Kings 70 (Walton Jr 18, Glover 12, Cooks 10)
