Basketball On The Internet.

DEJAN Vasiljevic drove a stake through New Zealand's heart tonight, building on another big game from centre Isaac Humphries as Adelaide started NBL Round 5 with a monster fourth quarter that clinched a terrific 97-85 road win.

The star of the 36ers' home win over Perth, Humphries again was a giant presence with 17 points at 67 per cent, 11 rebounds, two assists, a steal and two blocks.

His keyway influence meant Breakers centre Mangok Mathiang played just 9:29 and back-up Dane Pineau 9:39 as New Zealand struggled to find a way to curtail him.

Zylan Cheatham again was huge for 25 points at 71 per cent and eight boards in 25:25 before a last quarter injury sent him to the changerooms.

He is unlikely to suit in the Breakers' second match this round and his absence meant Jacob Wiley (12 points, 13 rebounds) helped dominate the key for the final term, won 27-14 by the Sixers.

They won the boards 41-24 and also had to deal with losing Trey Kell to injury during the contest. A gametime decision to play, he lasted just 17:46 and never looked comfortable.

New Zealand still had Will McDowell-White (1-of-11) struggling from the floor, though his 11 assists were still big, but Adelaide's whopping 23 turnovers ensured the home team had the game's reins.

They surrendered them when Cheatham left, Vasiljevic sticking a mind-blowing long 3-pointer to give the 36ers their first important lead at 75-73. It was key in a 10-0 run that swept the visitors from 70-73 to 80-73 and NZ was chasing uphill the rest of the way.

Sunday Dech's triple closed the run and the Breakers had no way back from there, 36ers coach CJ Bruton orchestrating his team's best win of the season, Vasiljevic huge with his 24 points including 5-of-9 threes, four rebounds and five assists.  

ADELAIDE 36ERS 97 (Vasiljevic 24, Humphries 17, Wiley 12, Cadee 11, Dech 10; Wiley 13 rebs; Vasiljevic 5 assts) d NEW ZEALAND BREAKERS 85 (Lamb 25, Cheatham, Delany 17, Jackson-Cartwright 16; Cheatham 8 rebs; McDowell-White 11 assts) at Spark Arena. Crowd: 4.646

CAIRNS import playmaker Patrick Miller hit the second biggest shot of the night in Wollongong when he put the Taipans ahead 83-81 with nine seconds left, just enough time for Tyler Harvey.

Racing it forward and drawing incredible Cairns defensive heat, Harvey still pulled up and stroked the match-winning 3-pointer with 0.3 of a second left.

The Orangemen had time to fashion a prayer which went unanswered as the Hawks celebrated their second win of the season.

It started with Sam Froling throwing down a driving left-handed dunk as the Hawks built a lead of as many as 13 points and looked to have Cairns' measure.

Miller (24 points, 7 assists), driving and scoring and/or dishing, ensured the Taipans stayed in the contest, even though it was a scratchy, unimpressive resistance, mainly also fuelled by Bul Kuol until he ran into foul trouble.

Froling (5 offensive rebounds) and Lachlan Olbrich (two blocks, 3 ORs) had the key under control, Wani Swaka Lo Buluk also creating opportunities with four offensive boards.

Illawarra finally lost the lead in the last quarter and it looked as if the yips had set in. It didn't look good either when Justin Robinson fouled out.

Miller's jumper then should have ended it and the Taipans could not have defended Harvey much better. But you can't make a player miss, you can only encourage him, and their case just wasn't strong enough. 

ILLAWARRA HAWKS 84 (Harvey 20, Froling 16, Robinson 11; Froling 13 rebs; Harvey 5 assts) d CAIRNS TAIPANS 83 (Miller 24, Kuol 19, Waardenburg 14, Mennenga 10; Mayen, Miller 6 rebs; Miller 7 assts) at WIN Entertainment Centre. Crowd: 1,923