Andrew Bogut has unleashed his most imposing Australian NBL performance for the Sydney Kings to help them to hold out the New Zealand Breakers 71-70 in Auckland.
Jarrad Weeks Photo: Photosport
NBA championship-winning centre Bogut had a double-double by halftime on Sunday and then played his part as the visitors held out the fast-finishing Breakers.
Bogut finished with 23 points and 16 rebounds - numbers which stood out in a grim affair dominated by defence.
The seventh-placed Breakers (4-8) slumped to a fifth-straight loss, their cause crippled by a disastrous third quarter when they scored just six points, the second-lowest quarter return in their history.
They turned that around with 29 points in the final stanza as they mounted a torrid comeback.
A three-pointer from captain Tom Abercrombie pulled them within a point inside the final minute.
Abercrombie put up a shot in the final play of the game but missed, although there was a suggestion his ball release came after the final buzzer anyway.
Sydney's defensive hustle impressed but offensive support for Bogut was thin.
Jarrad Weeks top scored for the Breakers with 19 points off the bench, including 12 in the final quarter, while Abercrombie tallied 18.
"A good comeback but we scored six points in the third quarter and that's where we lost the game, not down the stretch," Weeks said.
"It just dropped off, we stopped scoring. We gave up too many O-boards and that's been our problem for the last couple of weeks. We keep trying to fix it, but we have got to start making inroads on that."
Weeks aside, the Breakers guards were ice-cold from the field, with Corey Webster, Shea Ili and Patrick Richard sinking one of 21 combined shots.
-AAP