NZ breakers - Cairns taipans: As it happened
End of match Taipans 85 - Breakers 81
The Breakers are coming back to the NSEC. The Taipans just did enough in the final over time period with Dorsey, Dillon and Crosswhite all making big shots to secure the win. Braswell missed a go-ahead three with nine seconds to play to allow Ubaka to ice the game at the free throw line. The Breakers will have to wait until Friday night to try and claim their championship.
OT 5:00 Breakers 73 - Taipans 73
Dorsey's done it again! Penney easily slotted two free throws to make it a three point lead, but Ron Dorsey nailed the buzzer beater to take it to double overtime for the first time in the history of the playoffs.
OT 4:51 Breakers 71 - Taipans 70
Ron Dorsey fights back with another clutch three for the Taipans. The Breakers will want to get the ball into their best free throw shooter CJ Bruton as he will be fouled
OT 4:48 Breakers 71 - Taipans 67
Kevin Braswell has redeemed himself for his mistake in the end of regulation time as he makes his second three pointer of the over time period.
OT 4:03 Breakers 68 - Taipans 67
The Breakers go in front as Braswell nails his third three of the night at a 50% success rate.
OT 1:53 Taipans 67 - Breakers 65
Penney's poor free throw percentage is hurting the Breakers here, he's been fouled twice in the overtime period and only made half the free throws. Ron Dorsey rubs salt into the wound with a massive three.
End of fourth quarter Breakers 61 - Taipans 61
We're going to overtime. Taipans inbounded the ball with three secons on the clock but couldn't get past the Breakers defence and Bruton scrambled for the rebound to keep the match alive.
Q4 9:57 Breakers 61 - Taipans 61
CJ Bruton hits a clutch three to tie the game up. Three seconds to play, could we have an overtime situation on our hands?
Q4 9:39 Taipans 59 - Breakers 58
The Breakers miss a golden opportunity to take the lead as Braswell throws a loose pass to give the ball back to the Taipans. Breakers call time-out.
Q4 8:21 Taipans 58 - Breakers 54
The Taipans lead again as Ayinde Ubaka makes two clutch shots to stretch to a four point lead with just 1:39 left to play.
Q4 6:21 Breakers 54 - Taipans 54
Just as I write the Breakers off they're right back in it, getting on a 6-0 run to level the scores again.
Q4 5:10 Breakers 54 - Taipans 50
Fatigue looks to be settling in for both teams as the Breakers have got their noses in front. Abercrombie has landed another big three-pointer to give the Breakers the momentum. The Taipans are struggling to find the basket now and look to be hanging in there by the skin of their teeth.
Q4 2:27 Breakers 51 - Taipans 48
Mika Vukona's doing the job for the Breakers in the final quarter. First with a long range jumper for two, he followed that up with a jam and gets the foul. He is the Breakers second highest scorer, and only the third player in the match to reach double digits, with 10 points.
End of third quarter Taipans 45 - Breakers 45
Tom Abercrombie hit a three to close out the quarter even going into the final ten minutes. He leads all scorers with 12 points. The match is poised for an absorbing final quarter with the Taipans fighting for their lives and the Breakers fighting to make history.
Q3 7:30 Breakers 42 - Taipans 41
The Breakers finally hit the lead again through Braswell who lands his - and the Breakers' - second three-pointer of the match. The three-point figures of 2/14 for 14% must be the worst of the season for the minor premiers.
Q3 5:25 Taipans 39 - Breakers 37
Game one star Alex Pledger stops the Taipans' 6-0 run as he hits a lay up and is fouled. He puts away the free throw to cut the margin to two points.
Q3 1:50 Taipans 33 - Breakers 30
The poor shooting continues in the third quarter both teams have combined for shooting stas of 0/7 in the first two minutes of the half. It can't be too long before the best offensive team in the league find their range.
Half-time Taipans 33 - Breakers 30
After a low-scoring first half it's the Taipans that lead halfway through. They must win this clash to keep any hopes alive and certainly don't look to be giving anything to the Breakers cheaply. No player has scored double digits as of yet with Tom Abercrombie leading all scorers on 9. The Breakers have improved their scoring percentage slightly to 29% with 10/34 from the field. Interestingly the Breakers have made only 1/9 three-pointers, a shot that's been their bread and butter throughout the season.
The deficit shouldn't worry the Breakers too much as they will remember coming back from 20 points down to win here in Cairns in the regular season.
Q2 8:49 Taipans 31 - Breakers 25
Kevin Braswell looks to be really struggling out there, shooting just 1/6 from the floor tonight. The league's best sixth-man has taken the shot himself too often and hasn't been able to set up Penney.
Q2 6:18 Taipans 27 - Breakers 18
The Taipans are on a 9-0 run and the Breakers look flustered and call a timeout much to the delight of the Cairns fans. Daniel Dillon is leading the way for the home side with 7 points. The Breakers look to be taking the early shot too often on attack as they are clearly rattled by the Taipans dominant start.
Q2 3:40 Taipans 18 - Breakers 18
The Breakers have drawn level with an easy basket for Penney but the match stays as scrappy as ever. This style will suit the Taipans as they look to limit the effectiveness of the Breakers' big scorers.
End of first quarter Taipans 14 - Breakers 12
A scrappy first quarter has come to an end with neither side really taken the initiative. Both sides made only 5/19 field goal attempts in the quarter for a 26% success rate. The Breakers are yet to show their attacking class as they look to rush the shot too often on offense. Taipan Ron Dorsey leads all scorers with 6 points while Penney and Abercrombie have four each for the Breakers.
Q1 8:30 Taipans 12 - Breakers 11
New Zealand take the lead for the first time in the match. Tom Abercrombie brought it within one with a trademark dunk and Penney took the lead with a lay-up after turning the ball over from Phill Jones.
Q1 6:14 Taipans 11 - Breakers 8
The Breakers have clawed back the deficit to three points as Mika Vukona finally puts away a lay-up after three offensive rebounds. The Breakers are currently shooting at 23% and do not seem to have much structure on their offensive sets.
Q1 3:30 Taipans 9 - Breakers 4Penney has got his account underway as they try to slow down the home side's sharp start. Abercrombie also has two after he was fouled.
Q1 2:00 Taipans 5 - Breakers 0
The Taipans have made a good start with Ayinde Ubaka making a lay-up followed by Ron Dorsey who made a 3-pointer from well behind the arc. Paul Henare had a n opportunity for a wide open three but isn't known for his shot-making and the shot wouldn't go.
6:05pm
There's five minutes until tip-off as the Breakers look to wrap up the series and become the first New Zealand team to win an Australian competition in any sport. They will face a tougher task than they did at home in game one with a packed crowd full of Taipans fans. The Breakers will run with their regular starting line-up of Paul Henare, CJ Bruton, Kirk Penney, Gary Wilkinson and Tom Abercrombie.
The Cairns side haven't beaten the Breakers so far this season going down 3-0 in the regular season and went down in game one of the finals on Wednesday.