"Hurt" fuels Breakers' historic win

The New Zealand Breakers, fuelled by 'hurt', responded in a big way on Friday night at the WIN Entertainment Centre.

Fresh off their second-half fade against Brisbane in Round 6, Petteri Koponen's side handed Illawarra their franchise's heaviest defeat, to the tune of 102-60.

"That loss [against Brisbane] hurt everybody and we wanted that feeling of pain to produce a consistent, 40-minute performance," Koponen said in Friday's post-game press conference.

"It all started on the defensive end, because when we get stops, we get out in the open court, where I feel we're a good team."

To ensure déjà vu didn't hit the Breakers, who led 52-34 at half-time, the coaching staff reinforced the importance of not taking their foot off the gas.

"We looked at some analytics about our third quarters, and the importance of playing for the full 40 minute," Breakers guard Parker Jackson-Cartwright said.

"The teams are too good and the players are too good to not do it [for the full four quarters]."

A big part of this impressive response was the strong play of Breakers big man Sam Mennenga, who finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds and outplayed his opponent JaVale McGee (13 points and 10 boards).

"Sam has had an unbelievable start for the season," Koponen said.

"We need to him to be great for us, with his ability to open up the paint and play inside and out.

"[Last game] I was honest with him. After a great first half, Tyrell [Harrison] killed him in the second and you could see he learnt from that against JaVale tonight.

"Sam's one of those guys who's always early in the gym, working on his game, [because] he he got that fire.

"I tell all our younger guys, if you want to get somewhere or get better, there are no magic tricks, you need to invest and put in the time and that's exactly what Sam is doing."

Jackson-Cartwright echoed his coach's sentiments around the Tall Blacks international, who is averaging career-highs in points (17.9), rebounds (8.3), assists (1.9), steals (0.8), field goal percentage (53.5) and free throw percentage (76.5).

"That guy (Mennenga) is one of the hardest workers I've been around," the import point guard said.

"He doesn't get talked about enough in this league, and I don't know why.

"He's showed it every game this season and he's going to continue to prove himself because he loves the game.

"He's a professional and he's just he's a dog. I love him and I'm happy for him."

The Breakers, who are now 3-7 on the season, next host Adelaide in Round 8 at Wolfbrook Arena.

The Thursday, November 6 fixture tips off at 5.30pm AEDT, live on ESPN.