What letup? They may have sewn up all they can at this late stage of the NBL's regular season, but that doesn't mean the New Zealand Breakers are done tearing up this league.

Tonight at a sold-out NSEC the NZ Breakers marked CJ Bruton's 450th NBL game, not to mention his signature on a fresh contract, with a resounding 109-93 victory over a Gold Coast Blaze side they could well meet in the semifinals.

In what was essentially a dead rubber for the Breakers, who last weekend clinched their second straight minor premiership, Andrej Lemanis' team kept their standards high as they outshot - if not outrebounded - the third-placed Blaze.

In front of their seventh sell-out crowd of the season, the defending champs were paced by another polished offensive display by Thomas Abercrombie, who became the 11th Breaker to pass 1000 points for the club on his way to a game-high 24 points to go with five boards.

The victory was significant on a number of fronts for the Breakers who are now 20-6 for the season and finish their home programme with an outstanding 13-1 record.

It was their third straight win over the Blaze this season and eighth in the last nine. At 15-11 the Coasters are right in the mix for fourth, and you can't imagine they would come to Vector for the March 30 semi-final opener with any sort of confidence based on this.

Abercrombie continues to elevate his game as the business end approaches, but he's no lone ranger on that front.

Daryl Corletto, another to have put pen to paper recently to re-sign with the club, had one of those "almost can't miss" nights as he went six-of-eight en route to 17 points. Gary Wilkinson was almost as efficient as he tallied 20 points (9/14 FG) and five rebounds, while his backup Alex Pledger added 10 and six off the bench.

Then there was Cedric Jackson. Mr Perpetual Motion weighed in with nine points, three boards, 12 assists and a trio of steals as he won yet another point guard matchup against a hyped opponent.

Bruton, who on Wednesday penned a new two-year deal that will see him close out his career at the Breakers, of course wasn't going to miss his own party. He had 14 points and went four-of-six from deep in a typical "CJ" performance.

It was Corletto and Abercrombie who paced the Breakers to a 58-46 halftime lead that could well have been much greater had the home side not given up a dozen offensive rebounds.

The Breakers shot a scorching 65 percent from the floor and 60 from outside the arc, with Corletto the best of them as he went five-for-five and knocked down three triples en route to 14 first-half points.

Abercrombie added 10 points, while Wilkinson's nine points and four boards kept things ticking over closer to the hoop.

Mika Vukona's two fouls inside the first 26 seconds put a minor spanner in the works, but the Breakers steadied well to lead by five at the first break and 12 at the major one.

When that lead was extended to 22 by the end of a third quarter that ended with a running Corletto buzzer-beater, the contest was effectively decided..

 

NZ Breakers 109 (Thomas Abercrombie 24, Gary Wilkinson 20, Daryl Corletto 17, CJ Bruton 14, Alex Pledger 10),

Gold Coast Blaze 93 (Anthony Petrie 18, Adam Gibson 14, Chris Goulding 14, Stephen Hoare 13, Adris DeLeon 12, Will Hudson 10).

1Q: 23-18; HT: 58-46; 3Q: 90-68.

- © Fairfax NZ News