South East Melbourne Phoenix have thumped the New Zealand Breakers on their home floor, winning 99-77 in a dominant and clinical performance leveraged by a record-breaking opening quarter.
The Phoenix lost their last NBL outing to the Breakers at home in Melbourne last Saturday, but a five-day turnaround was more than enough for them to recover and roll the hosts in front of their own fans.
Simon Mitchell's side led from start to finish in the club's 100th NBL game, opening their account with a 38-point first term - the highest in their history.
The Phoenix shot a whopping 76 per cent from the field, hitting 16 of their 21 shots.
New Zealand were not blown to pieces however, scoring 25 points of their own at 50 per cent, but the lead stretched to 21 points in the second term when the Phoenix went on two mini-runs to balloon their margin out further.
The Breakers, the league's best defensive team entering Thursday's contest, trailed by 17 points at the halfway mark, which grew to a game-high 29 points midway through the third term.
It was the variety in which South East Melbourne scored that will have coach Mitchell satisfied, a blend of cohesive ball movement, efficient shooting and hounding both sides of the ball.
The front court duo of Alan Williams (16 points) and Zhou Qi (10 points) dominated the interior with post hooks and sometimes uncontested dunks.
Kyle Adnam (17 points) was efficient from behind the arc, as was Mitch Creek (15 points) as five Phoenix players finished in double figures.
The Breakers were unable to hold their opposition to under 40 per cent shooting for the first time this season and the loss snaps a three-game winning streak.
For the Phoenix, Thursday's win was their first on the road, and moves them to two wins and three losses for the season.
