Overdue victory boosts Breakers
As Breakers guard Sek Henry assessed his best performance of the Australian NBL season in Auckland on Saturday night, he was asked about the emotions of an overdue, and timely, signature display.
Relief? Satisfaction? Nah, the 32-year-old journeyman pro replied, just pure delight that his group, with their backs against the wall, had delivered the result that was required to steady their faltering season.
There is still a long, long way to go. Saturday night’s 91-79 victory over the Illawarra Hawks in front of a season-high crowd of 8474 raucous fans at Spark Arena snapped a five-game losing skid and improved the Breakers to a tenuous 3-8 record.
But with starters Corey Webster, Scotty Hopson and Rob Loe all out injured, and replacement import Glen Rice Jr stuck in likely permanent purgatory, something special was required to arrest the decline before it became terminal.
Enter Henry, a Californian who played his college hoops in Nebraska and has been a pro in Japan, Venezuela, Poland, Italy, Spain, France, Israel and Turkey. Until Saturday night the southpaw shooting guard had merely hinted at what he was capable of
Against the Hawks, as a starter, he soared, contributing 25 points, 3 assists and a trio of steals. He knocked down 10 of his 17 shots, 4 of his 8 triples and at one stage in the fourth quarter rattled off 11 straight points to seal the deal for the Breakers after they’d seen a 21-point lead whittled back to just two.
Henry dedicated his performance to crocked team-mate Webster who sat the game out with an ankle sprain. The Tall Blacks star is confident of a return for next weekend’s double at Cairns and Brisbane.
‘‘I’m happy we got the win, and the 25 points helped us get the win,’’ said Henry. ‘‘That’s what I’m very happy about because we have been on a losing streak. This was big for us.
‘‘And shoutout to Corey and his birthday this week. That was like a present for him.’’
Henry said everybody had to step up their aggression levels in the absence of Webster’s 20 points a game and credited a solid allround effort with getting the job done. Most importantly, they shackled the free-scoring Hawks to 79 points on 39 per cent shooting.
‘‘Hopefully now we can start a run and get some games in a row. That’s the plan – to feed off this, stick together and make a run.’’
Tall Black Finn Delany provided the other notable individual effort with a quality doubledouble of 20 points and 10 boards. It was just what the doctor ordered for the athletic forward after his delayed start to the season on the back of a frustrating ankle injury.
‘‘I just wanted to make the right decisions, whatever situation I found myself in. I wanted to start us off well and bring energy, because that’s what we needed from the get-go,’’ he said.
Delany hoped the win would become a turning point, but said it was important to ‘‘stay level’’ and stick with their processes. He also loved the atmosphere created by the big crowd.
‘‘It was amazing. I wasn’t here when the team went through those championships and had those big crowds. That was the best atmosphere I’ve played in front of at Spark.’’
Coach Dan Shamir was happy with the way his undermanned side rallied and confirmed he hoped to have both Webster and Hopson back for next week’s testing double.
‘‘We’re not in easy times,’’ he said. ‘‘We had a difficult few weeks coming into this game with another guy out.
‘‘We’ve had a lot of difficulties. One of the key factors is injuries, but that’s not the only thing. There have been basketball issues also. Hopefully today is the first step towards better times.’’
Shamir was also rapt with the fact the much-hyped RJ Hampton v Lamelo Ball matchup did not distract any of his players from what this game was all about.
Hampton (12 points on 4-of-8 shooting) played solidly and Ball also had his moments for the Hawks with 25 points, 12 rebounds and 9 assists.