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WHILE gifted playmaker William McDowell-White tonight flirted with a triple-double, his New Zealand Breakers simply overwhelmed the defending NBL champion Kings in Sydney 95-87 to seize a 1-0 lead in the Championship Series, with Game 2 at a sold-out Spark Arena in Auckland on Sunday.

Playing in front of a tremendous Game 1 attendance of 13,145, the Kings enjoyed their last lead at 13-11 in the first quarter and after tying it at 20-20, were helpless as New Zealand ran up a 10-3 outburst to the break.

From then on, the Kings were in chase mode, the Breakers playing some beautiful basketball, the ball moving quickly and efficiently, while defensively, there was hustle and great rotations to keep the home team off balance.

WMW was the Breakers' first-half "Weapon of Mass Destruction", leading the scoring while also feeding teammates, taking the honours from Sydney's All Star Five First Teamer Derrick Walton Jr.

When McDowell-White drove the lane, the Kings were second-guessing whether he would lob a pass or drift in a floater of his own.

At key times Jarrell Brantley contributed offensively (16 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and one memorable block) and Rob Loe's 3-ball and Cam Gliddon's 3-point banker all added to the Breakers' confidence and the Kings' unease.

Dejan Vasiljevic had his way driving on Rayan Rupert early but league MVP Xavier Cooks struggled (8 points on 2-of-10 shooting, 4 rebounds) as the Breakers' defensive strategies steadily erased his confidence.

For the Kings, it largely was Justin Simon (18 points at 72 per cent, 6 rebounds, 3 blocks) and Walton (12 points, 6 assists) that kept New Zealand from breaking out further than a 14-point buffer it enjoyed in the second and third quarters.

To his credit, Kings coach Chase Buford tried various tactics, including going to a zone defence. But Mody Maor's gameplan stood up to the challenge.

Jordan Hunter (15 points on 4-of-7 shooting, 6-of-7 FTs) was the unlikely hero as Sydney dragged the deficit back to 70-76 with a period to play before closing to a basket a couple of times in the final quarter.

That was when Barry Brown Jr showed why he was the league's Sixth Man of the Year, hitting some big shots despite playing with a broken left hand. He was 1-of-8 from beyond the arc - the one he hit huge in sealing this - but solid going to the hoop or from mid-range.

McDowell-White, in his first Championship Series outing, finished with 19 points at 54 per cent, 9 assists, 9 rebounds and zero turnovers, the ball now back in the Kings' court to make appropriate adjustments for Sunday's Game 2.

There will be some anxious moments in the Kings camp with Walton Jr and Cooks both leaving the game late in the fourth but with injuries (cramp|corky) that did appear manageable.

CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES (NBL GRAND FINALS) Best-of-5

Game 1: NEW ZEALAND BREAKERS 95 (McDowell-White, Brown Jr 19, Brantley 16; McDowell-White 9 rebs; McDowell-White 9 assts) d SYDNEY KINGS 87 (Simon 18, Hunter 15, Walton 12, Vasiljevic 11; Simon 6 rebs; Walton 6 assts) at Qudos Bank Arena. Crowd: 13,145

Breakers lead series 1-0. Game 2 in Auckland, Sunday