Tasmania JackJumpers have forced a decisive third game in their NBL semi-final series against New Zealand Breakers thanks to an emphatic 89-78 victory in game two at Hobart's MyState Bank Arena.
The JackJumpers surged home in the second half of Thursday night's clash to bounce back from a 20-point drubbing in the opening game of the best-of-three series and keep their bid for back-to-back grand final appearances alive.
The visitors appeared to be on the verge of reaching their first grand final since 2016 after edging ahead 60-55 late in the third quarter.
But Milton Doyle engineered a run of 11 straight points as the JackJumpers stole the momentum before a sell-out home crowd.
Tasmania ended up outscoring New Zealand 34-18 over the final 12 minutes of the match, with Doyle's game-high 23 points and Jack McVeigh's 16-point haul ensuring there will be a do-or-die game three at Auckland's Spark Arena.
The victor in Sunday's deciding game will qualify for the championship series against the winner of the Sydney-Cairns series, the defending champion Kings already holding a 1-0 lead following their 95-87 in Wednesday's semi-final series opener.
JackJumpers coach Scott Roth felt humbled by the performance of his squad after they earned the chance to repeat the heroics of last season's game-three road victory against Melbourne United and reach consecutive grand finals in just their second season in the competition.
"We've worked extremely hard this year and to be back in this position again, to defend the island and win at home is what we pride ourselves on," Roth said.
"This group is quite relentless in their approach. I don't know that it always leads to winning but it does lead to an incredible effort and I thought tonight they were just relentless."
The JackJumpers stayed in touch with the visitors thanks to buzzer-beating three-pointers from Matt Kenyon at the end of the first quarter and Jarrad Weeks on the stroke of halftime.
Tied at 42-apiece after a physical opening half, the Breakers could not capitalise on a strong start to the third quarter with Doyle triggering a 9-0 run to see the home side take a four-point edge into the final term.
Coach Mody Maor admitted the Breakers were outplayed by the JackJumpers but felt they would be ready to hit back at home on Sunday with a grand final berth up for grabs.
"The JackJumpers responded and played great. We didn't defend to the level we (usually) defend and our offence was a little bit stagnant," Maor said.
Some of it came from just missing some good open threes. We will play better next time."
