Who Wins The Decider in Christchurch?

NEW ZEALAND BREAKERS VS STH EAST MELBOURNE PHOENIX

Thursday 1st December 2022 – Christchurch

This is the 14^th game for the Breakers – the first team to reach the halfway point of the season.

This is the last game between the Breakers and Phoenix this season.
Both previous games were won by the road team:

Round 3 at John Cain Arena: Breakers 85 def Phoenix 77
Round 4 at Trusts Arena: Phoenix 99 def Breakers 77

99 by the Phoenix in Round 4 was the most scored by any team this season in a 40-minute game (United had 101 in an overtime game).

This will be Breakers' third game vs Phoenix, and the only team they are yet to play is the Wildcats who they host on Saturday, with Corey Webster playing his first game back in his home city. Perth has not played at Spark Arena since January 2019.
The last time Perth played in New Zealand was at Invercargill in November 2019.

The Phoenix have yet to play the Kings and meet them for the first time in round 11.

Highest scores this season:
116 by Breakers vs Bullets LAST SUNDAY
112 by Phoenix vs Hawks LAST SUNDAY
110 BY United vs Phoenix Round 6

Last Sunday was the first time we had two teams score at least 112 points in a 40-minute game on the same day.

Biggest wins this season:
37 by Breakers vs Bullets LAST SUNDAY
34 by Phoenix vs Hawks LAST SUNDAY
32 by Breakers vs JackJumpers round 5

34 was the biggest win ever by the Phoenix

In their history, Phoenix has never yet beaten an opponent twice on the road in the same season. This season they are 2-3 on the road with wins at New Zealand and Perth.

Breakers have won their last five games in Christchurch.

NBL games in Christchurch:
2021 R19 – Breakers 94 def 36ers 76 by 18
2020 R20 – Breakers 92 def Phoenix 83 by 9
2020 R12 – Breakers 90 def Phoenix 84 by 6
2004 R18 – Breakers 104 def Wildcats 97 by 7
2004 R16 – Breakers 93 def Crocodiles 79 by 14
2004 R7 – Bullets 90 def Breakers 84 by 6

Milestone:
Kyle Adnam is due to play his 200^th NBL game.
Last Sunday, he was a late withdrawal from the game due to a slight knee strain when he was meant to play his 200^th game.

Cameron Gliddon needs 2 more points for 3000 in his career.

The Breakers have won their last 4 games and 10 of their last 12.
The last time they won 5 in a row was in December 2019 – January 2020, when they started with a win over Phoenix and ended with a win over Phoenix at the State Basketball Centre in Melbourne.

The Phoenix have won 6 of their past 8 games and the last 2 in a row.

This game features the two best-in-form forwards in the current league, scoring leader Mitch Creek and Jarell Brantley.
Last round, Brantley scored 20 at Cairns and backed up with a new season-high 29 vs Bullets.
Brantley shot 6-from-20 threes in his last 3 games.
Creek is averaging 26.5ppg over his last 4 games at 53% from the field.

Alan Williams is averaging 11.7 rebounds in his last 3 games with 18.3 points.
Dererk Pardon is averaging 17.3 points and 8.8 rebs over his last 4 games and is shooting 67% from the field over the season.

Coach Mody Maor has lost 4 games in his career, and two of them were 20-point defeats by Phoenix.  Last season, he was thrown in the deep end to cover Dan Shamir’s covid miss and lost on debut to Phoenix by 24 before 22-pt defeat earlier this season.

Last time these teams played, Phoenix had a record franchise score of 38 points at quarter time, which is their highest scoring of any quarter ever.

In round 4, the Phoenix shot 62% from the field against the Breakers. In every other game, the most NZ have allowed is 46% by Adelaide.  The Phoenix led by 29 during that game.

There have been 8 games this year that have been won by 26 points or more, and the Breakers have won four of them.

Barry Brown Jr has missed 3 games with injury this season, and 2 of those were against the Phoenix, so this will be his first game against them this season.

It will also be the first time we get Brown vs Browne, as Gary Browne leads the league in assists at 8.5 per game.

To put that into perspective, Cedric Jackson is considered one of the best point guards in the 40-minute era, and his best season was 7.1 assists per game in 2013.

Izayah Le’Afa scored 14 and 10 in his previous games against his former team and shot a combined 3-from-16 three-pointers. In the first game, he had a career-high 10 assists.

Last week Le’Afa had a career-best 21 points in the first half but did not score after the main break.

Cam Gliddon missed the first game against Phoenix with an injury but scored 3 points in 11 minutes in round 4 vs Phoenix. This will be his first NBL game in Christchurch, but he will feel like a local, having played for the Canterbury Rams in 2019, where he was named NZ’s most outstanding guard and all-star first team.

Phoenix forward Reuben Te Rangi played for the Canterbury Rams in 2020. Tohi-Smith Milner also played for the Rams in 2017.

The Rams also have a connection with the Phoenix as head coach Judd Flavell coached SEM 3 times last season in the NBL when Simon Mitchell had to sit out with Covid.