21 Jan 2011

Breakers beat Adelaide to win series and stay top of NBL

5:06 am on 21 January 2011

The New Zealand Breakers have easily beaten Adelaide 91-77 in Auckland to stay on top of the the Australian National Basketball League.

The injury-depleted 36ers stayed in touch for most of the first quarter when the Breakers were off target early.

But three pointers from CJ Bruton and Kevin Braswell began a 24-3 run for the hosts and by half-time they led 55-36, extending the lead to 28 points in the third quarter.

Although the Breakers' intensity dropped off in the fourth they'd already made sure of a 3-0 series win over the 36ers, as well as their 13th win in 16 games and sixth out of seven at the North Shore Events Centre.

Their American import Gary Wilkinson led all scorers with 21 points, his third straight 20-plus game, with Kirk Penney scoring 19.

The next Breakers match is against the Taipans in Cairns on Saturday week.