Breakers’ win NBL playoffs

we responded was telling for our team, and how resilient we are.”

The Breakers simply don’t win this without the diminutive JacksonCartwright who underlined his reputation as an MVP contender with 31 points (two shy of his season-best), 7 dimes, 4 boards and a pair of steals. He made 13 of 21 shots and dazzled with a turn of speed that teams in this league have no counter for.

But he needed help, and he got it from Will McDowell-White (16 points, including 4 of 6 threes), Mantas Rubštavičius

(13 points) and Zylan Cheatham with a 12-point, 15-rebound double-double.

Then there was Izayah Le’afa. The Kiwi guard’s stats were unflattering (3 points, zero assists or rebounds in 14 foul-plagued minutes) but his play with 15 seconds remaining was not. The Hawks had the ball, down 2, before Le’afa swooped for a steal to put Cheatham away for a dunk that sealed the deal.

“There’s a reason he’s on the court at crunch time,” said Maor. “I trust him very much in these situations. He couldn’t get into the game, picked up fouls, but made the right play when we needed it.”

Added Jackson-Cartwright: “He’s tough, he’s confident, he makes big shots when we need him to, and it just seems like he’s always there making that big play, getting a steal. He’s done this before … you can count on him.”

And now a Saturday travel day, and Sunday assignment against 18-7 Melbourne, featuring Kiwis Shea Ili and Flynn Cameron and Aussie standout Matthew Dellavedova.

“It’s going to be hard because for some reason these games are in the middle of the day,” added Maor. “It doesn’t matter because hard is the way we like it. We’ll go in and do our stuff. We’ve got 12 [wins] now and we’ve got to get another one, then another one, and then another one.”