Davison takes Breakers to win over Sydney Kings
Carlin Davison had a career night as he led the Breakers to a stunning road win over the defending champion Sydney Kings in Canberra posting career high points, assists, and steals in the 102-101 NBL victory.
The win secured 5 points in the in-season IGNITE Cup competition, moving the BNZ Breakers clear in first place with 12 out of 14 possible points in their first two games in defence of the competition.
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Twenty-three-year-old Davison celebrated his 50th NBL game in style, posting 20 points, a remarkable 14 assists, 4 rebounds, and 4 steals – becoming the first Breaker in the history of the club to post that combination of numbers.
Davison had great help in a team effort all about resilience, character, a never give in attitude, and no end of skill that saw the visitors turn a 10-point halftime deficit into a nail biting one point win.
Sam Mennenga backed up from his incredible numbers against Perth with a dominant double-double of his own, 27 points and 13 rebounds. Mojave King was indefatigable in his 39 minutes, with 17 points and 4 rebounds.
DJ Vasiljevic (13) and Kouat Noi (10) were the others in double figures, and birthday boy Reuben Te Rangi played some huge defence and knocked down a couple of vital threes with the game in the balance.
Anzac Rissetto provide huge energy to go +7 in his 4 minutes of game time.
The start was a little shaky, with the Breakers going down by 7 midway through the first quarter, leading to a time out and reset from Coach Gordie Herbert. The Breakers responded immediately to go on a run of scoring to lead 31-29 at the first break and secure the first IGNITE Cup point of the night.
The second quarter was all Sydney however, with Maluach, Davis, Cooks, and Craig proving a handful for the Breakers to contain, the Kings outscoring the Breakers 32-20 to win the quarter and lead by 10 at the main break.
The second half was a defensive show with multiple players trapped Davis and took him out of the game (the Sydney point guard finished with 17 points on 7 of 20 shooting), every shot was contested - the Kings having no answer, trailing by as many as 13 points.
Davison was supreme at the point, scoring at the right moments, making 3 of 5 from deep, and staying calm in the face of incredible pressure, as he found teammates at will, playing like he was born to handle the basketball.
Sydney came back through Torrey Craig making four triples and suddenly it was a one basket game with seconds to play.
The Breakers led by 1 with 2.2 seconds to play, Mennenga was fouled on the inbounds, missed both free throws (the second deliberately) and with just 1 second on the clock Sydney could not make the half court prayer.
The Breakers now head to Tasmania to play the JackJumpers on Sunday, with a 4-3 record through their opening 7 games of NBL27, 5 of which have been on the road.
NZ Breakers 102 (Sam Mennenga 27 points, 13 rebounds, 2 steals; Carlin Davison – 20 points, 14 assists, 4 rebounds, 4 steals; Mojave King 17 points, DJ Vasiljevic 13, Kouat Noi 10)
Sydney Kings 101 (Torrey Craig 28; Makuach Maluach 19 Xavier Cooks 18 points, Kendric Davis 17 points)
