Breakers outclass Adelaide for 2nd NBL win

Corey Webster has equalled his NBL best haul with 23 points for the NZ Breakers who have overwhelmed Adelaide 101-80.

The New Zealand Breakers provided further evidence they are ready to rebound from a substandard NBL campaign last season with an emphatic 101-80 win over the Adelaide 36ers on Friday in Auckland.

The three-time champions followed their 80-70 upset victory in Perth last week with a dominant performance at both ends of the court in their first home game of the season.

The Breakers played with the sort of verve that marked their hat-trick of titles before a dramatic slump to seventh place in 2013-14.

Tall Blacks guard Corey Webster top-scored with 23 points, equalling his NBL career-best effort and shrugging off the back injury which sidelined him from most of the Perth win.

Forward Tai Wesley and guard Cedric Jackson both tallied 15 while Tom Abercrombie scored an encouraging 11 points off the bench in his first appearance of the season after undergoing a hernia operation.

Adelaide scored the first eight points to silence the home crowd, still buzzing after former guard CJ Bruton had his jersey number retired before tip-off.

However, the Breakers went on a 20-3 scoring streak to lead 28-19 after the first quarter.

They were 50-39 up at halftime and 25 clear early in the final quarter before losing intensity and conceding 15 straight points to the visitors, prompting a feisty time-out message from coach Dean Vickerman.

The Breakers easily won the rebound battle, boosted by 11 to centre Ekene Ibekwe and 10 from the impressive Wesley.

Guard Jamar Wilson led the scoring for Adelaide, who drop to a 1-2 record, while Daequon Montreal and Mitchell Creek both scored 13.

The Breakers handed 16 minutes of court time to forward Reuben Te Rangi, who earlier in the day was sentenced in New Plymouth District Court to 160 hours of community work and six months' supervision after pleading guilty to assault. He was also ordered to play $NZ1000 ($A930) reparation to the victim.


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