Full of Spark Breakers thrash 36ers

With Parker Jackson-Cartwright running the show like only he can and his New Zealand Breakers teammates bringing their hard hats, they had too much energy for the Adelaide 36ers in a 109-82 home victory.

Despite a gruelling travel schedule and still missing key trio Max Darling, Mojave King and ex-Sixers captain Mitch McCarron, the Breakers shot out of the blocks at Spark Arena on Saturday night and never looked back.

While blown away in Christchurch last Thursday night by the South East Melbourne Phoenix, the Breakers willed themselves to a spirited win on Sunday in Sydney against the Kings.

They kept that momentum going back in Auckland scoring the opening 10 points of the contest and with dynamic guard Jackson-Cartwright virtually doing as he pleased in a spectacular display, the Breakers stayed on top the rest of the way.

The Sixers did arrive having won five of their past six matches, and while their import trio of Kendric Davis (18 points, six assists), Montrezl Harrell (25 points, six rebounds) and Jarrell Martin (11 points, three rebounds, three steals) contributed strongly, they never seriously threatened.

New Zealand put up 33 points for the first quarter with Jackson-Cartwright scoring 14 of those and he ended up with 20 for the half with the Breakers up 52-39 at the half.

Some hot three-point shooting including three in quick time to Grant Anticevich late in the third saw the lead blow out to 28 points with the Breakers ending up winning by 27 to improve to 5-2 on the season.

Jackson-Cartwright finished with 25 points and six assists while Next Star Karim Lopez continues to shine with the 17-year-old having another 17 points and seven rebounds in a starting role.

Freddie Gillespie was a defensive beast with five blocks to go with 13 points and seven rebounds with Matt Mooney also putting up 17 points and five assists, and Sam Mennenga 14 points and six rebounds.

Breakers coach Petteri Koponen couldn’t have been happier with the performance that takes his team to top spot.

"We were really solid for all 40 minutes and we talk about rebounds and one-on-one responsibilities before the game, and the guys did an amazing job," he said.

"Already in Sydney we took a huge step there winning all those 50-50 situations and everybody who stepped on the floor tonight contributed.

"It was a solid 40 minutes, but like I said after the losses there's no time to cry and now is no time to celebrate."

The rollercoaster ride this season for Adelaide continues with them now 5-4 with captain DJ Vasiljevic scoring 16 points but it took 6/17 shooting as they went 6/20 from deep as a team and collecting only 25 rebounds to 39 from New Zealand.

Sixers coach Mike Wells knew playing catch up all night wasn’t a recipe for success.

"Victory usually goes to the more aggressive team and unfortunately we had another slow start," he said.

"The New Zealand squad played a great game, they were downhill, aggressive and put the pressure on us to make plays, and I think we tried to do the things we wanted to do.

"We were just playing catch up a little bit the whole night on both sides of the ball."

The Breakers were back at Spark Arena for the first time in two weeks and started on fire with a focus to go inside with Sam Mennenga taking full advantage with the game's first six points.

Next Star Karim Lopez then threw down a dunk in transition ahead of two free-throws for the 10-0 New Zealand start before eventually DJ Vasiljevic got Adelaide on the board.

It was Parker Jackson-Cartwright the star of the show for the Breakers whether creating for his teammates or scoring himself and the home team closed the opening period on an 11-5 run with Jackson-Cartwright scoring all those for New Zealand.

He had 14 points by quarter-time and the Breakers were leading 33-19 before Adelaide were able to work back into the contest with import trio Jarrell Martin, Kendric Davis and Montrezl Harrell combining for 31 first half points.

However, New Zealand pulled away once more and closed the half with the last six points including a layup to Jackson-Cartwright on the buzzer to give him 20 points with the team shooting 57 per cent and leading 52-39.

The Breakers then scored another eight straight points midway through the third period to push out to a 20-point advantage but they were only just warming up.

Grant Anticevich landed three triples in quick time and Lopez hit another just on three quarter-time to see the lead balloon out to 28 before they scored the eventual 27-point victory.

The Breakers now head to Melbourne to take on United on Monday night for Melbourne Cup Eve while the Sixers are next in action next Sunday at home to the Illawarra Hawks.

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL SEASON 2024/25

NEW ZEALAND BREAKERS 109 (Jackson-Cartwright 25, Mooney 17, Lopez 17)

ADELAIDE 36ERS 82 (Harrell 25, Davis 18, Vasiljevic 16)

BOX SCORE