BOXSCORE
If basketball had an equivalent of the Gunfight at the OK Corral, Melbourne's bone-rattling 94-89 win over New Zealand at North Shore Events Centre on Thursday night had to be in the final.
Bruising didn't do the physical intensity justice in a game where most of the time seemed to be spent at the free-throw line.
Again, however, the home side blew a 15-point advantage in the home stretch, scoring only 12 points to 32 by the Tigers in the final quarter.
The more desperate the Breakers became, the more their long-range shots missed and the more the experience of Chris Anstey shone through as he landed three vital three-pointers in succession.
Melbourne's Mark Worthington shared the game-high 27 points with Breaker Tony Ronaldson, for whom it was a season-high, while Anstey's late run saw him end with 24 and Julius Hodge had 23.
Kirk Penney backed Ronaldson with 22.
Both teams were rusty to start, with several early shots off-target and the frustration the home team had experienced was intensified when two calls were made on local hero Penney and that was intensified when coach Andrej Lemanis' disappointment resulted in a technical foul being called against him.
However, that seemed to serve to settle the side down and while Anstey had showed his accuracy from the free-throw line where 59 attempts were made on the night, it was the Breakers' big men, Oscar Forman and Ronaldson, who seized the initiative with a pair of three-pointers each and on the quarter-time buzzer, CJ Bruton made the most of a steal to land another three to give the home team a 26-18 lead.
More frustration crept in during the second quarter with Paul Henare drawing two quick fouls while a sloppy pass attempt at an alley-oop from Dillon Boucher to Forman went sadly astray to waste a chance.
It wasn't much better for the Tigers as they conceded offensive fouls.
Out to a 45-36 lead at the half, it was the superior accuracy from the three-point line that was allowing the Breakers the advantage shooting 53 percent to the Tigers 33 percent.
It was indicative of the bruising nature of the first half, if the bodies lying on the court were not enough, that the Tigers enjoyed 16 free-throw attempts in the first half to only four from the home side.
Ronaldson was especially effective with three three-pointers for 13 points while Worthington's 10 led the Tigers' scoring.
The game threatened to become little short of a dockyard brawl in the third quarter.
An elbow which decked Boucher went unpunished at one end of the court and then he was ruled to have fouled Hodge at the other.
Ronaldson stood up for the Breakers as they finally assumed control with some clever set-ups under pressure and he ended the third quarter with 24 points, while Penney was finding greater accuracy.
Hodge and Worthington kept trying to get the Tigers back into the game but the home side kept working the percentages to open spaces under the basket and with the greater three-point accuracy, with Braswell stepping up behind Ronaldson and Penney.
Anstey wasn't prepared to lie down, however, and his first three-pointer seemed to set the Tigers alight in the last four minutes as both Hodge and Tom Greer scored to get the visitors within four at 84-80 with 3:28 left.
And when Rickert missed a shot the turnover saw Worthington land a three to get the Tigers to within one (84-83) before another Breakers turnover led to a long three-point shot from Anstey to see the Tigers claim the lead for the first time with less than two minutes on the clock.
Ronaldson came back with three of his own, to which Anstey replied with three more.
The damage had been down, however, and desperation from the home side only increased the inaccuracy and the opportunities which the Tigers seized with relish.
‘OAMPS’ Melbourne Tigers 94 (Mark Worthington 27 points, Chris Anstey 24, Julius Hodge 23)
defeated
‘Burger King’ New Zealand Breakers 89 (Tony Ronaldson 27 points, Kirk Penney 22)
Venue: North Shore Events Centre, Auckland, New Zealand
