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Breakers forward Anthony Lamb goes to work in the block against the JackJumpers in Launceston.
At the Silverdome, Launceston: NZ Breakers 97 (Anthony Lamb 24, Parker Jackson-Cartwright 22, Izayah Le’afa 11, Finn Delany 11), Tasmania JackJumpers 92 (Will Magnay 20, Milton Doyle 17, Jordon Crawford 13, Jack McVeigh 12). 1Q: 31-30; HT: 56-47; 3Q: 79-66.
A double dose of Anthony Lamb and Parker Jackson-Cartwright, with a little bit of Izayah Le’afa when it mattered, proved enough for Mody Maor’s New Zealand Breakers to secure a much-needed Australian NBL road victory over the Tasmania JackJumpers on Thursday night.
It wasn’t pretty, as the Breakers threatened to let a watertight position slip late, but thanks to Le’afa’s crucial late steal and layup at the death, and a couple of quality offensive efforts from imports Lamb and Jackson-Cartwright, the Kiwi outfit were able to close out their first road victory of the season.
The win was massive for the Breakers as they improved to 3-6 for the season, with a Sunday home game against the struggling Illawara Hawks (2-7) to come in the round, while the JackJumpers slide back to 6-5 with an effort they will be disappointed about.
Lamb, and his 98 games of NBA experience, proved vital for the Breakers as the former Golden State Warrior poured in 20 of his game-high 24 points (8/17 FG, 2/5 3PT) in the first half and added 11 rebounds, 2 assists and a pair of blocks. He was also plus-13 in his near 35 minutes on court.
Elusive point guard Jackson-Cartwright, the league’s top scorer, added a vital 22 points on 8-of-17 shooting, to go with 4 boards and 3 dimes, for the Kiwi club as he again proved a handful off the dribble.
Le’afa, though, was arguably just as big as the import duo in a must-win clash for last season’s championship runnersup, knocking down a crucial late triple and pulling off a steal and layup with 13 seconds remaining to ice the game for the Breakers after they got a late case of the wobbles after leading by 9 (93-84) with 2:28 remaining.
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Breakers guard Will McDowell-Whitegoes up for the lay-in before injury ended his night in Tasmania.
The busy shooting guard finished with 11 points, including 3 of 7 from deep, to go with 5 difference-making steals, while fellow Tall Black Finn Delany added 11 points off the bench for the victors before fouling out late. All 9 of Tom Abercrombie’s points came in the first half, while Will McDowell White’s third-quarter knee injury which prevented him returning to the court emerged as the chief negative for the Breakers.
There was plenty to like about a quality road victory under pressure for the Breakers, though their defence remained scratchy, particularly when they went to zone and eased the pressure on the Jackies, while their second-half wobbles will also be looked at closely by the coaching staff.
The JackJumpers were led by 20 points and 13 rebounds off the pine from a busy Will Magnay and 17 points from import Milton Doyle who managed just four after halftime. Star guard Jordon Crawford was kept to just 13 points, on 4-of-11 shooting, for the home side.
The Breakers led 31-30 at the end of a free-flowing opening quarter, but broke loose in the second, by as many as 15 points, and by nine at the major break, 56-47, on the back of 20 first-half points from Lamb, 10 from Jackson-Cartwright and nine from skipper Abercrombie.
The visitors led 79-66 at the final break and appeared to be cruising to victory as they kept their advantage at 13 early in the final term and by nine inside the final three minutes. A late charge from the JackJumpers got them within a single point (93-92) inside the final minute, but a Jackson-Cartwright free-throw and Leafa’s late heroics sealed the deal for a relieved Kiwi side.
