The Breakers have extended their NBL basketball winning run to five matches and cemented their place at the top of the table with a 92-88 victory over the Adelaide 36ers in Auckland.
Coming off away wins over Melbourne and Brisbane, the Breakers had to survive a stubborn last-quarter fightback from third-ranked Adelaide at North Shore Events Centre.
Breakers veteran Mika Vukona drives to the hoop during the win over Adelaide. Photo: Photosport
Down by 14 points in the third quarter, the 36ers stormed back in the final spell to trail by just two with 27 seconds remaining.
Shea Ili gave the Breakers a little breathing space in sinking three of four from the free-throw line.
Nathan Sobey nailed a clutch three-pointer to give the visitors a glimmer of hope with five seconds left on the clock only for two more Ili free throws to wrap up the match.
Edgar Sosa and Tom Abercrombie top-scored for for the Breakers, Sosa with 24 and Abercrombie on 21.
For Adelaide, Mitch Creek led the way with 24 points, with support from Daniel Johnson (18) and Ramone Moore (14).
Little separated the two teams at the end of the first quarter, a two-point jump shot from Mika Vukona on the buzzer giving the Breakers a 22-21 lead.
The Breakers took a 49-40 lead into halftime, their accuracy from the three- point line key, with Abercrombie joining DJ Newbill, Kirk Penney and Edgar Sosa in sinking six from 14 long-range attempts.
Adelaide's speed on transition kept the Breakers' defence scrambling, but the Kiwis were efficient in converting their chances and looked to have the game well under control, opening up a 58-44 lead three minutes into the third quarter.
But with Creek and Johnson starting to dominate through the middle, the 36ers fought back to reduce the gap to 71-64 at the three-quarter mark.
Adelaide continued their rally in the final spell, trailing by just two with less than five minutes remaining, before three-pointers from Sosa and Abercrombie put the Breakers back on track.
Sobey also began to find his range from beyond the paint, but the Breakers proved unshakeable in closing out the narrow win.
