Breakers rue missed chance for upset
The Breakers were left wondering what could have been after falling agonisingly short of pulling off an historic upset against the NBA’S Phoenix Suns.
On the back of a game-high 27 points from guard Corey Webster, the Breakers stormed home to draw within four points with a minute to go only for the Suns to hold on 91-86.
The Kiwi franchise stunned the crowd of just over 7000 that turned up to the Phoenix’s Arizona Arena for the pre-season clash, outscoring the Suns 24-14 in the fourth quarter.
But coach Kevin Braswell was left to rue a poor performance from the foul line as they made just 64 per cent (18-28) of their free throws.
‘‘We had our chances. When look at the box score, damn if we could make a free-throw we’d be OK,’’ Braswell said.
Still, there was plenty to like about the Breakers’ first game against an NBA team, particularly after a frustrating pre-season which has been disrupted by injury and international commitments.
‘‘We’ve definitely got better defensively since the Blitz [preseason tournament],’’ the coach added. ‘‘One of my biggest focuses since we came over here was to make sure that when we get back to New Zealand we’ve covered all of our defensive [areas].’’
While missing star guard Devin Booker through injury, the Suns were led well by this year’s number one NBA Draft pick Deandre Ayton, who had 21 points and 15 rebounds.
But Webster made just as big an impact. The 29-year-old shot 11 of 24 from the floor, including four threes, to record the highest total by an Australian NBL player against an NBA team in the cross-league exhibition series.
He also finished with a gamehigh seven assists while adding four rebounds and a steal.
‘‘He’s a great player, great shooter. He’s obviously their guy and we kind of had him up as the hot guy, the target tonight,’’ Suns forward Ryan Anderson said. ‘‘He got a lot of open looks and opportunities.’’
Webster sparked the Breakers’ resurgence after they lost their way in the third period as the Suns jumped out to a 19-point lead.
Anderson praised the visitors’ resilience and said there was plenty for his team to learn from the game.
‘‘They’re a great group of guys, made a lot of hustle plays, got a lot of offensive rebounds,’’ he added.