NZ Breakers drop to 0-3 to open ANBL season
- NZ Sports Wire
- Sep 28
- 3 min read
The Perth Wildcats hit back with 17 straight points in the fourth quarter to score their first win of the Australian National Basketball League (ANBL) season against the NZ Breakers.
The Breakers had all the momentum on their home floor at Spark Arena in Auckland on Saturday night, with the opening 15 points of the fourth quarter, but Perth responded in kind with the next 17 to run away with the 89-78 win.
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It was then-development player Jaron Rillie, the son of coach John, a former Breakers, who iced the game with the first five points of his ANBL career.
Both teams were looking for their first wins of the season after the Breakers lost twice in the opening round, home to the Brisbane Bullets and away to Melbourne United, while the Wildcats lost at home to the Tasmania JackJumpers.
Ben Henshall hit eight quick points after coming off the bench for Perth to help them to a 25-17 advantage by quarter-time and then Jo Lual-Acuil Jr had 14 first half points for them for a 44-42 lead at the main break.
'Next Star' Karim Lopez kept New Zealand close with his team's only two three-pointers and 14 points but the 'Cats were still on top most of the third quarter including leading by as much as nine.
It was the start of the fourth quarter where the Breakers blew the game open with the opening 15 points including a pair of three-point bombs to returning local Izayah Le'afa.
It took the 'Cats more than three minutes to score but once they did they went on their own 17-0 run including the last seven of them to Kristian Doolittle before it was three-point bombs from he and Rillie that sealed the 11-point victory.
Perth only shot 6-of-35 from three-point range but two of those six came in the last minute, with Lual-Acuil Jr ending up with 21 points, eight rebounds and four blocks.
Dylan Windler added 20 points and 15 boards, and Doolittle 16 points, six rebounds and three assists while fellow import Mason Jones struggled with two points on 0-of-8 shooting.
The Breakers are now 0-3 to start the season despite Parker Jackson-Cartwright finishing with 18 points and five assists.
Lopez ended up with 16 points and seven rebounds with Le'afa adding 14 points, three assists and three steals with 4/7 shooting from deep.
Lopez helped his team to a 5-2 start when he completed a three-point play but the Wildcats soon took control with Windler and Lual-Acuil Jr combining for nine straight points for the visitors.
Ben Henshall then came off the bench and hit their next eight points and by the end of the opening term, it was the 'Cats on top 25-17 with 11 free-throw attempts to one.
The Breakers responded with a strong start to the second quarter with five quick points to Parker Jackson-Cartwright and four to Izaiah Brockington, and then Lopez caught fire for perhaps the best time in his ANBL career.
By half-time, the Mexican teen had 14 points to his name including the Breakers' only two three-pointers with the rest of the team going 0-for-10. Perth also struggled from downtown but were narrowly leading at the half 44-42 with 14 points from Lual-Acuil.
Just as Perth looked like they could run away with it in the third quarter opening up a seven-point lead, Le'afa responded with a couple of three balls for the Breakers to cut the deficit to three by three quarter-time.
The Breakers then blew the game open to start the fourth quarter with five quick points with a Sean Bairstow three before a furious John Rillie timeout. They kept it rolling, though, with a couple more threes to Le'afa as part of a 15-0 run for a 12-point lead.
But Perth were not done yet and answered in stunning fashion with the next 17 points where Windler, Doolittle and Lual-Acuil came up huge, as did Rillie.
The Wildcats are back home at RAC Arena on Thursday night to play host to the Illawarra Hawks, before the Breakers hit the road for the second time already to take on the Sydney Kings on Saturday.
Perth Wildcats 89Â (Jo Lual-Acuil Jr 21, Dylan Windler 20, Kristian Doolittle 16)
NZ Breakers 78 (Parker Jackson-Cartwright 18, Karim Lopez 16, Izayah Le'afa 14)
1Q: 25-17, HT: 44-42, 3Q: 62-59