Dillard solves Breakers’ problem

Head coach Paul Henare had a bunch of questions for Kevin Dillard as the pair spoke for the first time from opposite sides of the world.

One inquiry, though, came with extra importance for the man who would be charged with steering the bottom-placed Breakers back into playoff contention as their new starting point-guard.

Sure, results hadn’t been going the Kiwi outfit’s way.

But, as the three-quarter time margins in recent losses to Cairns (up five, lost by two), Sydney (up two, lost by five) and Cairns (down four, lost by 10) indicated, something crucial was missing.

A something that has improved substantially as Dillard has led the Breakers to back-to-back wins to move them into sixth overall and keep their hopes of a fifth championship alive.

‘‘It was pretty special, pretty emotional,’’ Henare said after training yesterday, reflecting on his latest US import’s buzzerbeating winner in Brisbane on Sunday.

‘‘We’ve been in close games on the road this year and mostly through this time of chopping and changing the roster, where we’ve struggled is closing out games.

‘‘I remember having a conversation when [Kevin] was in Turkey. I told him we needed someone to come in and help close out games and obviously he did a good job of that.’’

Dillard’s silky smooth step-back jumper, preceded by an almost as clutch steal, to steal victory from the Bullets is not over-inflating his impact in the three games he has played thus far, either.

The affable Chicago native dropped 13 of his game-high 28 points against Brisbane in the fourth quarter and 10 of his 19 in the previous win over Sydney also came in the final period.

It remains no easy task for the Breakers to finish in the top four in a super-tight playoff race but, with an away clash against Illawarra looming on Friday night, all of a sudden it seems less daunting.

Dillard, who placed Sunday’s ‘‘unbelievable experience’’ in the top two moments of his career, indicated the players’ mindset had hardly wavered.

‘‘We’ve always had a confident bunch of guys and that’s the reason we kept and still keep believing. Trust ourselves and work we put in everyday.

‘‘The mood after the game was all thrills and smiles. We soaked it in, celebrated for that night but then we came back to reality.

‘‘There is still a lot of work to do for what we want to accomplish.’’

Henare admitted he was taking a sneaky look at the ladder at the end of each round but was not prepared to suffer the headache that would come from working out what their exact scenario may be.

That meant his team’s focus was almost exclusively on what they could control, most notably coughing up much less than the 21 turnovers they conceded against Brisbane and staying locked in on defence.

As for their mental state, that had been largely taken care of.

‘‘When you go through a stretch like we’ve been through and the guys are dealing with injuries, replacements, and losses on top of that, it can get to be bit of a grind,’’ Henare said.

‘‘More than anything there is a sense of relief and you can feel real confidence within the group that comes with wins.’’

No doubt an acknowledgment the coach’s key question to Dillard has swiftly been answered.