The New Zealand Breakers inconsistency continues as they dropped to fourth on the ANBL ladder following an 81-71 loss at the Cairns Taipans.
Paul Henare Photo: Photosport
Since ending a 9-game winning streak in November, the Breakers have failed to string consecutive wins together and now there is some pressure on them to hold onto fourth.
The Breakers were without point guard Edgar Sosa, who withdrew with a rolled ankle, but they still started with plenty of zip in their step.
Forward Mika Vukona scored within three seconds after intercepting the tip- off and his men followed by keeping the home side scoreless in the opening minutes.
Cairns point guard 'Scoochie' Smith stopped the rot in the fourth minute with a corner three, sparking a run that put the Taipans in front. They led 41-37 at halftime.
But Breakers guard DJ Newbill came alive in the third quarter, scoring seven points to put the visitors in the driver's seat heading into the final period.
However Cairns took control in the last quarter.
"Things were going pretty well, then cairns changed their line-up and went smaller, and we struggled to adapt. Me, as a coach, I've got to do a better job of making sure I'm putting guys in the right places," said coach Paul Henare.
"We reacted, we went smaller and that's when our offence dried up. We've got three centres and ended up with all of them sitting on the bench at the end of the game.
"Maybe it's a matter of us setting the tone and having teams react to us and what we're doing, rather than the other way around."
The Breakers travel to Perth to play the Wildcats on January 27.
-AAP
