The New Zealand Breakers' juggernaut shows no signs of slowing down after thumping South East Melbourne Phoenix 110-84 to secure their fifth win on the trot.
Just four days after handing out a 37-point hiding to the lowly Brisbane Bullets, the Breakers lit up Christchurch Arena on Thursday night with Barry Brown Jr leading the home side to a commanding 63-39 advantage at the main break.
The hosts finished the job in the second half to exact some revenge from their 22-point defeat to the Phoenix in Auckland back in round four and consolidate top spot on the ladder with an 11-3 record.
The Breakers have now topped 60 points in the opening half of consecutive games for the first time since January 2008 while no other NBL team has produced back-to-back games with at least 63 by halftime in the last 12 years.
Brown Jr finished with 31 points, the highest score from any Breakers player this season, and gave credit to the competitiveness within the squad for keeping the longest winning streak in the league alive.
"I feel like we came out, especially in that second half, and just continued to lay it on them," Brown Jr said after the Breakers recorded their sixth consecutive victory in Christchurch.
"We kind of got sloppy a little bit but we were able to finish the game."
The impact of Brown Jr and centre Rob Loe (17 points) off the bench laid the platform for the victory as New Zealand enjoyed a massive 62-16 advantage over South East Melbourne in bench points.
"It's amazing to have a great group of guys that believe in themselves and believe in each other and we have a great time,: Brown Jr said about the chemistry the Breakers have built during their flying start to the season.
Outside of centre Alan Williams (29 points, 13 rebounds) becoming the first player this season to top 20 points and 10 rebounds in consecutive games, there was little to celebrate for the Phoenix in Kyle Adnam's 200th NBL game.
Strong play in the post from Williams handed the visitors an early 18-15 edge but Brown Jr and Loe each scored 11 points as part of a 22-8 run for the Breakers to storm ahead 37-23.
Brown Jr's hot start extended into the second period as he closed the half with 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including 4-of-4 from three-point range, as the Breakers made 10 triples and added 37-0 bench points to take a 24-point lead into the main break.
South East Melbourne managed to slow the Breakers in the third quarter but it was not enough to avoid falling to their biggest loss of the season.
