A powerhouse display from New Zealand twin towers Shawn Long and Tai Wesley has helped the Breakers keep their finals hopes alive with a 104-96 win over the Adelaide 36ers.
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Long (28 points, 18 rebounds) and Wesley (19, 13) outmuscled the home side while Patrick Richard (18 points, six-of-six three-pointers) responded spectacularly to being demoted from the starting five as the visitors exacted swift retribution following last Sunday's defeat.
Nathan Sobey (23 points, eight boards, five assists) led the way for the Sixers who were overwhelmed in the second half after holding a nine-point second-quarter advantage.
Promoted to the starting five, Corey Webster helped the Breakers open up an early eight-point lead before the Sixers' bench helped the home side claw back some ground.
A pair of three-pointers to Brendan Teys and some powerful inside moves from Harry Froling - including a strong dunk on Long - gave Adelaide a 27-26 quarter-time edge.
With 36ers captain Daniel Johnson sitting out the entire second term, Long dominated the glass (nine second-quarter rebounds) but the Breakers couldn't buy a basket, connecting at 20 per cent for the stanza, as the home side pulled ahead 49-41 at half-time.
Webster and Wesley sparked a 15-5 burst as NZ seized the initiative and led 70-67 at three-quarter-time with Richard drilling three triples in the last two minutes of the quarter.
Long and Wesley were outstanding at both ends in the fourth, helping the Breakers draw 11 points clear but the Sixers kept fighting.
The hosts closed to within five points before an unsportsmanlike foul on Teys and a reach-in call on Sobey halted their charge and snapped their four-match winning streak.
NZ coach Kevin Braswell praised the way his charges hustled their way back into the contest after the main interval.
"When we were down eight points at half-time, all I was talking about was effort," he said.
"That was probably one of the best third quarters we've had all year."
Adelaide coach Joey Wright conceded the Breakers simply 'went right through' his side.
"I thought they did a pretty good job of attacking us, one-on-one they just gave the ball to Long and a few other players and spread one-on-one," he said.
"We didn't do a good job of rotating or helping."They went right through us."
Australian Associated Press
