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Breakers offence fires in win over Melbourne


The New Zealand Breakers moved further ahead at the top of the NBL with a dominant and 113-79 hammering of Melbourne United.

The NZ Breakers moved further ahead at the top of the Australian National Basketball League (ANBL) with a dominant and 113-79 hammering of Melbourne United.


The Breakers arrived at John Cain Arena on Monday night still missing key trio Max Darling, Mojave King and Mitch McCarron.


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They were up against a United team on their home floor and having won their past three matches while also being back at full strength having welcomed back their gun defensive back court of Shea Ili and Matthew Dellavedova.


However, they could do nothing to limit the influence of MVP fancy Parker Jackson-Cartwright as he thrived as the playmaker for the Breakers with his quickness and creativity on show in dazzling fashion.


The Breakers put together a remarkable performance to end up winning by 34 points on the back of shooting 66 percent as a team, while hitting 11-of-19 from three-point range on top of pulling down 46 rebounds to 25.


The win means the Breakers are further clear in top spot at 6-2 and Jackson-Cartwright was brilliant with 23 points, seven assists and four rebounds on 9-of-12 shooting.


And it was New Zealander Sam Mennenga was the main beneficiary of his good work with 25 points and four rebounds with 3-of-4 three-point shooting while 17-year-old Next Star Karim Lopez continued his emergence with 17 points, 10 rebounds and four blocked shots.


Matt Mooney shook off six turnovers for 17 points and four assists with Sean Bairstow having his best ANBL career night with 12 points and three rebounds.


It was a horror night for Melbourne who had just 25 rebounds and shot at just 37 percent with Chris Goulding having 14 points with three assists while Flynn Cameron added 20 points on 5-of-9 three-point shooting as a lone shining light.


Melbourne managed zero second chance points from 11 offensive rebounds in what was Dean Vickerman's heaviest ANBL defeat as a coach.


Jackson-Cartwright took control with his creativity and explosiveness enable him to get inside the arc and then to either score himself or create for his teammates.


He and Mennenga combined for 13 of the first 15 points with the Breakers racing to a 15-3 lead while defensively holding Melbourne to three points in five minutes.


The lead was still 12 by the end of one with the Breakers up 25-13 thanks to a Jackson-Cartwright score on the buzzer and there was no let up in the second term.


They even turned up the ante offensively with 30 points and holding Melbourne to just the 18 on the way to the 55-31 half-time advantage in a venue they had not won in against Melbourne for six years.


With Jackson-Cartwright and Mennenga combining for 29 points on 12-of-15 shooting, the Breakers were shooting at 70 percent to just 34 from Melbourne while pulling down 22 rebounds to 12.


The Breakers are back in action on Saturday when they go up against the JackJumpers in Tasmania (tip-off 7.30pm NZ Time).


NZ Breakers 113 (Sam Mennenga 25, Parker Jackson-Cartwight 23, Karim Lopez 17, Matt Mooney 17, Sean Bairstow 12) Melbourne United 79 (Flynn Cameron 20, Chris Goulding 14, Jack White 10, Tanner Krebs 10). 1Q: 25-13, HT: 55-31, 3Q: 84-52


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