Sydney: The New Zealand Breakers head into the Australian National Basketball League playoffs on the back of successive losses.
After an 84-82 defeat to Illawarra Hawks at home on Friday, the Breakers wrapped up their regular season with a 101-86 loss to the Kings in Sydney on Sunday night.
It saw them finish with a 15-13 record as they remained fourth, and will meet table toppers Melbourne United in the best-of-three playoff series starting in Melbourne on March 3. Tom Abercrombie of the Breakers swings on the furniture against the Kings. Sunday’s match was largely meaningless, with the Breakers unable to improve their position and the Kings sitting seventh and out of the playoff race.
Coach Paul Henare, who gave some of his youngsters court time in the narrow defeat to Illawarra, decided not to risk key men Kirk Penney (calf) and Alex Pledger (ribs) in Sydney.
Jordan Ngatai led the way with 17 points for the Breakers while Rakeem Christmas had 13 points and nine rebounds. The Breakers led 48-42 at halftime but the Kings stormed home, winning the final quarter 33-18. The Kings’ Jason Cadee led all scorers with 30 points including six of 10 three-pointers. Adelaide and Perth will meet in the other semifinal series after a week’s break.
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