Breakers bounce back, beat Illawarra Hawks
- editor59343
- 12 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Off the back of their worst performance of the season the New Zealand Breakers returned on Sunday to beat the Illawarra Hawks.
Turnovers hurt the Illawarra Hawks all afternoon and it was the last one that denied them a late chance with the Breakers led by Parker Jackson-Cartwright showing heart to hit back for the 101-96 win.
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The Breakers had a horror 41-point defeat at home on Friday night at the hands of the Sydney Kings to leave their hopes of staying in the top six hunt hanging by a thread as they arrived at the WIN Entertainment Centre on Sunday.
The Hawks were in a similar position trying to stay alive coming off a loss to the South East Melbourne Phoenix on Thursday, but it was the Breakers who led for all but 3:55 of the game.
Illawarra still stayed in touch but New Zealand had all the answers led by a terrific performance from Jackson-Cartwright who produced 23 points, eight assists, seven rebounds and three steals while knocking down 3/5 from downtown.
The Hawks also coughed up 19 turnovers for the game which might have been the biggest factor in what could be a crucial loss in their title defence with five of them courtesy of Championship Series hero Davo Hickey.
But it was the last one that proved most costly. With the margin three and eight seconds on the clock, Tyler Harvey caught the inbounds pass from Hickey but took a step back over half-court for the violation.
Possession came back to the Breakers, Rob Baker II knocked down two clutch free throws and sealed the win for the visitors as they improve to 9-15 on the season trying to chase down the 12-13 Tasmania JackJumpers.
Given how bad Friday night was for the Breakers on their home floor against the Kings and having less than 48 hours to bounce back on the road, it was a performance full of heart to respond how they did.
They were in a degree of control of the contest most of the afternoon and ended up shooting 51 per cent from the field with 21/28 at the foul line. Even with the Hawks shooting 57 per cent, they only went 9/14 at the stripe.
Jackson-Cartwright might have been the star, but it was far from a one man show with Sam Mennenga also delivering 21 points on 8/13 shooting, and Izaiah Brockington 20 points, five assists and three rebounds.
Baker II produced an improved showing as well with 17 points and six rebounds with Next Star Karim Lopez a strong contributor with 16 points, six assists, five steals and four boards.
The Hawks are now 8-15 on the season following a third defeat to the Breakers of the season now by a combined 76 points.
QJ Peterson had 22 points, six assists and three steals for the Hawks and was one of only two players on the team to not have a turnover along with Wani Swaka Lo Buluk (12 points, two steals).
Harvey and Hickey both finished with 14 points and six assists while JaVale McGee delivered 11 points and three rebounds, and Daniel Grida 14 points and two boards.
Both teams now prepare to head to Perth for HoopsFest this week which will see the Hawks up against the Perth Wildcats on Friday night before the Breakers take on the Cairns Taipans on the Saturday at RAC Arena.
NEW ZEALAND BREAKERS 101 (Jackson-Cartwright 23, Mennenga 21, Brockington 20)
ILLAWARRA HAWKS 96 (Peterson 22, Harvey 14, Hickey 14, Grida 14)