Poor start costly for Breakers
POOR firsthalf shooting has left the Breakers ruing what might have been in Memphis.
The New Zealand club lost 10894 to the Memphis Grizzlies, who showed that despite being one of the least likely playoff sides in the NBA, the class between America’s top league and the ANBL is vast.
The Breakers started nervously, falling behind 122. Goto scorers Scotty Hopson and Corey Webster missed their opening eight shots between them, while forward Brandon Ashley, who made two great defensive plays in the opening minutes, had two fouls against him early and was forced to the bench.
Offensive fouls and more poor shooting were the pains in the Breakers’ side in the second quarter, as Ashley collected his fourth and Rob Loe his third.
Foul trouble forced coach Dan Shamir to turn to Ethan Rusbatch who returned the favour with a threepointer straight away. That inspired Webster to follow suit, cutting the deficit to 14, before some magic from Memphis guard Ja Morant helped push the lead to 19 points at the break.
Shots started to drop for the Breakers after halftime, as Webster, Ashley, Hopson and Tom Abercrombie all drilled threes. Webster scored 12 points in the third quarter alone.
The Breakers got stops at the defensive end as well, forcing the Grizzlies’ more inexperienced players into errors and some New Zealand fans who had made the trip started to make their voices heard when the lead was cut to six.
But three straight Grizzlies baskets to open the fourth quarter put to rest any chance of a Breakers upset.
Shots continued to fall for Webster and Hopson, but each basket was met with a swift reply at the other end of the court.
Webster was best for the Breakers, scoring 19 points and dishing eight assists. He was aided by Loe (12) and Hopson (16), but the performance showed the chemistry is far from perfect.
Next up is a clash against Steven Adams and the Oklahoma City Thunder, early tomorrow afternoon NZ time.— The New Zealand Herald