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Will McDowell-White goes on the attack for the Breakers in Friday night’s game 1 of the NBL grand final in Sydney.
At Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney: NBL grand final, game 1: NZ Breakers 95 (Will McDowell-White 19, Barry Brown Jr 19, Jarrell Brantley 16), Sydney Kings 87 (Justin Simon 18, Jordie Hunter 15, Derrick Walton Jr 12, Dejan Vasiljevic 11). 1Q: 30-23; Ht: 54-43; 3Q: 76-70.
Where there’s a will there’s a way. And where there’s a Will McDowell-White there is a 1-0 lead in the Australian NBL’s championship series.
It was first blood to the New Zealand Breakers as Mody Maor’s Breakers upset the Sydney Kings 95-87 in the opening game of the Australian National Basketball League’s grand final series in Sydney on Friday night.
And McDowell-White, the Aussie point guard they are all lining up to sign for next season, led the way for the Breakers with a near triple double of 19 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists as the Breakers opened the best-of-five championship series with a magnificent performance to grab the all-important first victory on the road and grab a 1-0 lead in the series that continues in Auckland on Sunday.
Barry Brown JR added a feisty 19 points in 21 minutes off the bench and club MVP Jarrell Brantley also left his imprint on this opening game of the series with 16 points and 7 rebounds for the Kiwi club.
Import forward Justin Simon paced the kins with 19 points and 6 boards, while Jordie Hunter added an electric 15 points (in 16 minutes) off the pine. Most importantly the league-best Breakers defence kept league MVP Xavier Cooks to just 8 points on 2-of-10 shooting.
The Breakers made much of the early running, leading 30-23 at the end of the opening stanza after making four of six triples and 9 of 17 shots and then by 11 (54-43) at the halftime break, behind 12 points and 6 dimes from McDowell-White and 10 points from Brantley.
The Kings made their move in the third period, finding just enough offensive fluency to get the margin down to single-figures (76-70) at the final break, but it was the New Zealanders who held firm down the stretch as they kept the home side at bay throughout.
