Both teams called for humidity issues at the North Shore Events Centre to be addressed in the wake of the NZ Breakers' most bizarre victory of their Australian NBL season.

The Breakers shaded the Wollongong Hawks 80-76 in a frantic finish at the NSEC last night to secure their 10th win in the last 11 games and advance their league-best record to an imposing 15-3. It was the Kiwi club's sixth home victory in seven outings.

But at the end of a match played in hot and humid Auckland conditions, it was the state of the NSEC court that created the major talking point. The Breakers prevailed in a finish that was as much keystone kops as it was heady hoops, with players from both sides slipping and sliding all over the court.

Twice in the closing minutes Breakers point guard Kevin Brasswell lost his feet, and the ball, without a player near him and the Hawks players also committed a number of crucial errors that appeared to be caused by the slippery court.
 
On a hot night in the gym, players had trouble handling a slippery ball throughout. But it was only in the second half – and especially the final quarter – when the court turned into a skating rink. That threatened to turn the match into a farce, though the Hawks were also their own worst enemies with a number of blown "gimmes" in the game's closing stages.

To the Hawks' credit, they refused to blame the conditions for the defeat – the eighth on the trot for the slumping side from the 'Gong – though like their hosts they urged stadium officials to learn from the situation, and address the issues.

"It's not ideal," said Hawks coach Gordie McLeod of the court conditions. "A couple of plays down the stretch it had a major effect on it… Obviously if it's an issue it's something they have to address.

"It was the same for both teams, but it could be dangerous. We certainly have enough injuries as it is, and I don't think they would be very happy if something happened to one of their main players. It's just something that needs to be addressed and fixed up."

McLeod's opposite Andrej Lemanis agreed.

"Humidity always causes issues," said the Breakers coach. "I know at our training facility once we get humidity, it's like it seeps up from underneath and you get wet spots, and once you get sweat on to the floor you can't get it dry.

"Unless you have air conditioning in the stadium, it's hard to do anything about it. I'm sure with the new local council they'd love to look after the NSEC and do that for us.

"You've got to play the circumstances," added Lemanis. "It's not something we can worry about as team, and it's something that needs to be taken up with management, and we'll see if something can be done about this."

McLeod, the former Saints coach, showed his class by refusing to blame conditions for his side's defeat after they'd done so well to stay close to the Breakers throughout.

"We don't have excuses, it was the same for both teams – as simple as that," said the veteran Aussie coach whose team has now slumped to a 9-10 record.

"Preferably you don't want to be playing in those conditions but if that's what it is, it's what it is. They handled it better than we did."

It was just sad that such a competitive tussle descended into a farce in the second half after the NSEC court turned into a skating rink. It had been bad enough that the ball had been like a piece of wet soap most of the night, the conditions clearly hampering the quality of the contest.

Still, it was good to see the Breakers keep their cool on a sultry evening where the Hawks definitely came to play – though even they will admit they were aided by some profligacy from the visitors in the closing stages.

The most cheering sight from a home perspective was probably Kirk Penney's return to shooting form, the Breakers ace scoring 16 of his game-high 22 points in the second half as he nailed big shot after big shot over the run home.. He made nine-of-17 from the field and three-of-eight from beyond the arc.

Mika Vukona was the other standout Breaker, a veritable beast on the boards, grabbing six offensive rebounds in his game-high total of 16 to repeatedly earn his side valuable extra possessions. The hard-working forward deserved his double-double with some late free-throws taking him to 11 points.

Gary Wilkinson added 13 points (4/11 FG) to be the other main contributor, though big Alex Pledger also deserves a mention for his first-half hustle which was another step in the right direction for the seven-footer's progress this season.

Gary Ervin led the Hawks challenge superbly, the American point guard using his dazzling speed and three-point accuracy to amass 21 points, though he must have rued two blown layups near the end that cost his side dearly. His main support came from big Larry Davidson (13 points/10 rebounds) and Tim Coenraad who kept things ticking over early for the visitors.

It was yet another unconvincing first half by the Breakers, but at least this week they weren't spotting their opponents 20 points at the end of it. That they took a 46-43 lead into the sheds was probably down to a 24-14 rebounding edge and the realisation that with the shots not dropping (again), they needed to take it to the hoop.

Still, a lop-sided free-throw count (19-7 in the Hawks' favour) and strong first-half contributions from Coenraad (11 points) and Ervin (10) kept the visitors in the contest and the runaway league leaders with plenty to do over the run home.

It stayed worryingly close (60-55) at the end of the third quarter as the Breakers struggled to shake loose their gritty opponents, and that was the way it stayed down into the final minute when it was the hosts who kept coolest in a boiler-room atmosphere.

A Penney jumper that took the Breakers out to 76-71 inside the final two minutes had looked conclusive, but a Davidson putback then got the Hawks to within three, and as the Breakers struggled to keep their feet the visitors had a sniff.

But with Ervin missing twice from close range, and Oscar Forman also blowing a short one, the Breakers were able to hang on and make enough free-throws to ice the contest.

The Breakers next host the Melbourne Tigers at the NSEC next Friday, a side in a degree of disarray after just sacking their coach and import.

NZ Breakers 80 (Kirk Penney 22, Gary Wilkinson 13, Mika Vukona 11), Wollongong Hawks 76 (Gary Ervin 21, Tim Coenraad 15, Larry Davidson 13, Rhys Martin 11). 1Q: 23-19; HT: 46-43; 3Q: 60-55.

Marc Hinton- Stuff