NBL27 Match Recap: Melbourne United vs NZ Breakers. 2 November 2026.

Melbourne United have come away with their third straight win against the New Zealand Breakers in the second game of their Hungry Jack’s Rookie Round double-header. 

The contest puts United’s record in the positive (6-5) for the first time this season and is their second W at home in NBL27. 

Melbourne’s defensive intensity was electric from the start; an attitude which led to back-to-back steals and buckets to give them an early five point lead. 

The first bucket, a deep three over an outstretched Breaker hand from Cole Anthony, and the second, a monster slam from Malith Machar on the fast-break. 

Getting his game going early, Anthony knocked down another jumper. This time, dribbling to split two Breaker defenders, and getting wide open for a free-throw line middy in the process. 

Joining his compatriot in the action, following a five point run from the away side, Josh Oduro got his first bucket of the game off some hustle on the offensive glass for a put back. 

After a bit of back and forth from both sides, Anthony kept his hot form going, cashing in a three-ball off an Oduro screen to give United a 12-10 lead midway through the first. 

Melbourne’s grit put on a show in the period; highlighted by a stretch of hustle from Shea Ili and Oduro, which included a steal and two offensive rebounds in one possession that led to another shot from deep for Anthony, which he cashed in for his third triple. 

A strong move from Oduro in the post gave the big-man an open look at the ring for an easy deuce; a play Luke Travers replicated on the next possession for a layup of his own. 

With a minute and a half left, United had put together one of their best first quarters of the season; up 28-16 following a pair of triples from Chris Goulding and Travers. 

Following a three point response from the breakers, as the buzzer sounded to end the period, Melbourne were up nine, their second biggest first quarter lead of the year. 

Melbourne’s defence, as it so regularly is, was the difference to start the game. The boys in blue stripped their opponent four times in the quarter, and only fouled the Breakers once. 

The second started slower than the first, as United gave up a 6-0 run in the first two minutes of the period, shrinking their lead down to 28-25, in need of a response of their own. 

Despite stagnance on offence, two blocks from Oduro and Travers on consecutive defensive possessions kept the home crowd engaged. 

Travers’ connection from three on the next trip down the court got the United faithful even more lively, and took the lid off the ring for himself and his teammates midway through the quarter. 

An offensive board and put back from Travers, whose fingerprints were all over the second, gave him 10 points for the contest, and the home team some breathing room, the lead 33-28. 

Out of a timeout, and off the back of another stop, Goulding pulled up from the corner, and like clockwork, caught nothing but net; his second triple in his first game back inside John Cain following his calf injury. 

However another 7-0 run from New Zealand cut down United’s hard work, and left them looking for answers once again. 

An answer which came in the form of Goudling once again, who knocked down a tough floater off the dribble for his eighth point of the half. 

As the clock ticked down to end the half, Oduro’s activity on the glass paid dividends once again, as his two offensive boards led to a trip to the free-throw line and a putback off his teammate’s miss to give United a 43-39 lead as the buzzer sounded. 

United’s red hot shooting from the first quarter didn’t carry over to the second, but their engagement on defence stayed the same. The Breakers’ 39 first half points is their second lowest tally of NBL27; a good sign for Melbourne as the visitors had only won one out of four games where they lost the first half previously this season.

A drawn charge from Anthony on New Zealand’s first possession of the third boded well for United’s defence, and a deadly step-back three from the star-guard on the other end did a massive favour for their offence. 

Anthony scored the first five points of the third for United, taking his game tally to 18, and setting the tone that the game was in his hands for now. 

Melbourne’s tirelessness in the paint helped them hold their lead midway through the period; two trips to the line for United’s frontcourt and a wide open layup for Oduro left the scores at 53-49 with five to go in the quarter. 

Getting two feet in the paint, Anthony shot a slick dime to Fabian Krslovic who slammed home a much needed bucket to extend his side’s lead to six, and after forcing back-to-back Breakers misses, Krslovic got a look at the ring again; this time finishing with his right hand through contact off a Joe Ingles feed. 

The five point solo run from Krslovic electrified the crowd, and ballooned United’s lead to 58-49 with just over three minutes left in the third. 

A strong move to the ring from Machar for two, and an excellent block off the backboard from Krslovic gave Melbourne their first double-digit lead of the half, and with two minutes left in the period, set a comfortable margin going into the fourth. 

A small fight back from New Zealand gave Melbourne some trouble, but in response, their offence kicked into gear; a 10-2 run to close out the quarter, capped off by a Sam Waardenburg putback on the break, gave the home side a 70-55 lead going into crunch time. 

The first two buckets of the fourth came off Ingles deliveries, for his fifth and sixth assists of the contest. The former came no more than five seconds into the period and was knocked down by Oduro for his 17th point. The latter came from Machar who, with the score, had his third double-digit scoring performance of the season. 

Two minutes into the last quarter, the boys in blue had a 15 point lead, and were looking to put the game out of reach for their opposition. 

For his first score of the game, on just his second shot, Ingles took on his defender down the baseline for a tough lefty finish. 

Some fight back from the away side meant with five minutes left in the contest, Melbourne were defending a 76-64 lead, but following a timeout, they fought back with a layup from Waardenburg for a two-point trip down the floor.

With just over two minutes left in the contest, Anthony’s shiftiness proved too much for the Breakers once again, as he used a head of steam to get open for a teardrop floater which he put in for a bucket. 

A pair of scores from Christian D’angelo; a floating jumpshot and an insane half court three pointer at the buzzer, capped off what was a stellar win for United at home

The squad finished the contest with a 94-74 win, in what was one of their best defensive performances of the year. 

Throughout the whole game, Oduro was excellent. The big-man finished the contest with 19 rebounds, and is now only the third player in United history to haul in that many or more boards in a game. 

Melbourne United next take the floor as the home team inside John Cain Arena on Saturday the 7th of November at 7:30pm against the Brisbane Bullets. 

The game will be an opportunity for United to take their win streak to four. To see the action from the best seats in the house and at 20% off, get your tickets here via AXS. 

If you can’t make it on the night. The game will be streamed live on ESPN via Kayo and Disney+ as well as Channel 9 and 9NOW. 

FULL BOX SCORE AVAILABLE HERE 

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