Despite losing another starter to injury, NZ Breakers have held off a strong comeback from two-time defending champions Sydney Kings to steady their reeling Aussie NBL campaign before Christmas.
The home side led throughout, stretching their advantage to 19 points early in the final quarter, before withstanding a strong finish from Sydney to prevail 109-101 at Auckland's Spark Arena.
American Anthony Lamb led all scorers with 24 points, including three three-pointers, with four other Breakers scoring in double figures. Guard Parker Jackson-Cartwright and Lithuanian 'Next Star' Mantas Rubstavicius scored 17 points each, with the former dishing nine assists.
Coach Mody Maor hoped to have his roster back to full strength, with American forward Zylan Cheatham and Aussie guard Will McDowell-White slated to return from long foot injuries.
McDowell-White suited up, chipping in two points and four assists in nine minutes off the bench, but Cheatham remained on the sideline.
Maor also had to deal with a leg injury to Tall Blacks forward Finn Delaney, who may now miss several weeks in recovery. Kiwi Dan Fotu was inserted into the starting line-up and contributed quality minutes, but Cheatham's return cannot come soon enough.
The Breakers lead early, with Fotu opening the scoring and his team reeling off 15 consecutive points to establish their advantage. By halftime, the Kings had battled back to 53-53 parity, but immediately conceded that ground back, losing the third quarter 33-15.
Lamb hit a three-pointer from an out-of-bounds play early in the fourth period to extend the lead to 19 points and captain Tom Abercrombie slotted another from long range seconds later to consolidate that position.
Sydney outscored their hosts 33-23 in that final quarter, but their comeback fell short, as they saw a three-game winning streak snapped.
"We played fantastic basketball and Kings are a good basketball team who responded," said Maor. "They're so versatile, and every time we got punched or they made a run, we responded through things that are entrenched in our identity.
"That's stops, physicality, ball movement and something we haven’t always had, which is the ability to respond when things don't go well."
The Breakers' sixth win of the season - their first back-to-back success this season - has them two wins short of playoff contention, but they have a chance to leapfrog Brisbane Bullets on the table, when they travel across the Tasman on Wednesday.
NZ Breakers 109 (Lamb 24, Jackson-Cartwright & Rubstavicius 17, Le'afa 15, Abercrombie 10) Sydney Kings 101 (Noi 19, Toohey & Hogg 15)
