Mitsubishi Match Recap: Hungry Jack’s NBL26 - Round 5 v New Zealand Breakers

Melbourne United have taken down the New Zealand Breakers on Sunday afternoon to remain perfect to start the NBL26 season.

From the opening tip, United played well-rounded team basketball, as Milton Doyle provided great helpside defence to come up with a block before finding Finn Delany at the rim to draw two free-throws.

Delany added a three-pointer on the following possession, which Tanner Krebs emulated shortly afterwards to keep Melbourne in front prior to Tyson Walker stepping forward.

The American guard worked tirelessly at the defensive end, limiting Breakers star Parker Jackson-Cartwright to zero first quarter points, while using his speed to put himself in scoring positions.

Walker would finish the term with seven points, however it was Chris Goulding who got the crowd up on their feet.

The United captain got himself going with a midrange jumper before dialling in the range from deep, sinking two triples, the second from way downtown with a hand in the face.

This allowed Melbourne to take a 28-17 lead after 10 minutes of play.

Looking to build on this advantage, Tom Koppens injected his energy into the game, getting on the rim for a pair of layups.

This opened up opportunities on the perimeter for Doyle, who broke free for a pair of three-pointers, and Goulding, who added three more deep makes, the last of which came with just seconds remaining in the period.

This gave Goulding 18 points in just over nine minutes of play, and put United in front 56-38 heading into the major break.

Desperate to get themselves back into the game, the Breakers came out of half time scorching hot, going on a 10-1 run before Krebs wrestled back some momentum with a triple from the wing.

Fabijan Krslovic added some points in the paint to follow this up, while Goulding continued to build on his strong performance, getting to the hoop for a layup and popping out for another three-pointer.

Krslovic’s defence was also huge, with the big-man tallying a career-best five blocks on the evening.

Despite this, a buzzer-beating three from Rob Loe inched New Zealand back within 12 with one term remaining. 

Eager to ice the game, the duo of Krebs and Kyle Bowen stood tall.

Bowen got the quarter going with a layup, while Krebs caught fire from downtown, sinking three long-range bombs.

Bowen put the exclamation mark on this run, getting out on the break to throw down a powerful jam and give the home side a 20-point lead.

New Zealand were however able to fight back, going on a run which brought them within 11 points.

Needing to close well, Walker took control down the stretch, managing the flow of the game at both ends to ease United to a 104-88 victory.

This is Melbourne’s seventh consecutive win to start the season, good for the second longest streak in club history.

They will next take to the court in Cairns for a battle with the Taipans from 7:30pm on Friday 24 October on the road.