A star is born: Lopez announces himself with 32

It was a night to rememberfor New Zealand Breakers' 18-year-old Mexican Next Star Karim Lopez who had an NBL career-best 32 points to lead his team to the season-enlivening 97-95 win over Melbourne United.

Lopez needed to step up as well with New Zealand having lost front court pair Sam Mennenga (wrist) and Rob Baker II (knee) to long-term injuries. He put the team on his back showing what a future NBA superstar he is going to be.

After Melbourne led by eight with five minutes to play, Lopez took control and while New Zealand went on a 14-2 run in response, all those points were courtesy of their teenage star before they held on to win by two to enhance their prospects of nabbing sixth spot.

The Breakers started strongly with an early 17-8 advantage and didn’t miss a shot attempt inside the arc for the first quarter to be up 28-21.

That kept going in the second period as they hit all of their seven of their two-point attempts with Parker Jackson-Cartwright having 17 points of his own including the last seven to ensure New Zealand led 49-48 by half-time.

It remained a tight contest as well through the second half until back-to-back Melbourne threes from Chris Goulding and the returning Shea Ili midway through the fourth term to push their lead out to eight.

That's when Lopez took over and the Breakers scored 15 of the last 20 points to win by two and improve to an 11-17 record to be hot on the heels of the sixth placed Tasmania JackJumpers (12-16).

Lopez had 32 points, eight rebounds, two assists and two blocks on 11/13 shooting and 9/12 at the foul line.

Jackson-Cartwright also ended up with 23 points and three assists with Izaiah Brockington contributing 16 points, six rebounds and three assists, and Rob Loe 10 points, five boards, three assists and three steals in the absence of Mennenga down low.

The loss leaves Melbourne (18-11) vulnerable in fourth place just ahead of the Perth Wildcats (17-11) with seven of their last eight games now decided by single figures.

Import centre Jesse Edwards had 23 points and 14 rebounds but fluffed a golden chance to put United back in front in the dying seconds.

Goulding made 4/12 from downtown for 16 points with Finn Delany adding 13 points and four assists, and the returning Ili 11 points and three assists in 15 minutes.

The Breakers started strongly on their home floor to open up a 6-2 lead which turned into a 13-6 advantage not long after, and they did maintain their offensive pace while not missing a shot from two-point territory.

New Zealand went 11/11 inside the arc and were leading 28-21 on the back of that but United managed to turn things around late in the second term to have their own six-point advantage on the back of Chris Goulding knocking down successive three-pointers.

Parker Jackson-Cartwright responded for the Breakers with the last seven points of the half which saw New Zealand go into the break on top 49-48 thanks to shooting a perfect 18/18 from two-point range with Melbourne going just 47 per cent overall from the field.

It was neck and neck right throughout the third quarter with no more than six points separating the two teams and by three quarter-time it was just a two-point lead the way of Melbourne thanks to late buckets to Tyson Walker and Tanner Krebs.

It was always going to be a thrilling finish and Melbourne did have the momentum with five minutes to play after Goulding and Shea Ili made three-pointers, the second coming off a Jesse Edwards offensive rebound.

That's when Lopez took over the game and Melbourne had no answer for his aggressiveness and athleticism attacking the basket as the Breakers came away with the crucial home win.

The Breakers now have a quick turnaround and hit the road again to play a pivotal match with the Tasmania JackJumpers on Sunday while United don't play again until making their return to John Cain Arena next Saturday against the league-leading Adelaide 36ers.

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL SEASON 2025/26 – PRIDE ROUND

NEW ZEALAND BREAKERS 97 (Lopez 32, Jackson-Cartwright 23, Brockington 16)

MELBOURNE UNITED 95 (Edwards 23, Goulding 16, Delany 13)

BOX SCORE