Melbourne United continued their red hot NBL22 season. (Photo: Melbourne United Twitter)
Melbourne United’s star-studded offence proved far too dangerous for the New Zealand Breakers at John Cain Arena in a record-breaking victory.
Melbourne scored 60 points in the first half, the highest first half score by any team in NBL22 off the back of a dominant attack from its backcourt.
This included 14 points and three assists for guard Caleb Agada, who finished as player of the game with a near double-double on 17 points, nine rebounds and five assists.
The United guards, both starters and on the bench, continued their dominance throughout the whole game.
Star Chris Goulding had 12 points, while Matthew Dellavedova was prolific without needing to score, shooting the ball just four times but finishing with nine assists to only one turnover.
Shea Ili was important as always off the bench, shooting 15 points without missing a single shot from the field or the free throw line.
Dellavedova’s assists caught on with the whole team, with 31 assists to the 36 field goals made, showing the incredible ball movement that lead to their scores.
United’s three point shooting was a highlight, shooting an astonishing 46 per cent from outside with a large volume of shots.
Melbourne also allowed many of its bench players to get valuable minutes, including Zac Triplett and Callum Dalton.
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The frustration for the Breakers began early, with coach Dan Shamir actively arguing with the referees from the first quarter in a tough night for his team.
The poor defensive effort shown by New Zealand was actively pointed out, allowing United to score 18 second chance points and a total of 108 points, the highest for any team this season.
New Zealand also had zero blocks for the whole game, the second time that has happened this year.
This was the opposite for United, who had fantastic defensive plays, including an incredible blocked dunk from Jack White.
The Breakers poor free throw shooting will also come under fire, shooting just 52 per cent for the game, well below their average of 76.5 per cent.
New Zealand came into this game as the third most efficient free throw shooting team in the league, providing even more troubles on their poor night.
The Breakers had very few bright spots on the night, other than slowing down United’s scoring for their lowest quarter and outscoring them 29 to 24.
Peyton Siva scored the ball well for the Breakers, with 17 points off 6/12 shooting in an efficient night.
Yanni Wetzell was well down on his season scoring averages in the face of a stoic Melbourne defence, scoring just five points.
On the other side, Jo Lual-Acuil was also down on his scoring averages, with the others on United taking the brunt of the scoring.
He did however score a fadeaway that was “Dirk Nowitzki-like” in the first, in reference to the legendary Dallas Mavericks forward.
Melbourne United take on the Cairns Taipans in their next game, who have lost four straight and are looking to upset the juggernaut.
The Breakers have more hard work to do to rebound against the Illawarra Hawks, who sit in fourth place.
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