The New Zealand Breakers kept their slim NBL finals hopes alive with a hard-fought 106-95 win over the Illawarra Hawks at Spark Arena, overcoming injuries and foul trouble to deliver a high-energy performance led by Izaiah Brockington, Parker Jackson-Cartwright and Tai Webster.
After building a 16-point lead that was cut to just two early in the fourth quarter, the Breakers steadied late as the Hawks faded, with turnovers and missed chances proving costly for the visitors.
The result lifts New Zealand to 12-19, still chasing sixth place but remaining in contention, while the loss leaves Illawarra’s title defence hanging by a thread at 11-19 with only a few games left in their season.
