MARC HINTON

The Streak is over.

The NZ Breakers finally met their match in Perth overnight as their 16-game Australian NBL winning streak came to a 73-58 shuddering halt in the final game of the regular season.

Predictably, it took a typically feisty Wildcats side to end this winning run by the Australian league's regular season champions, with Perth running out comfortable 73-58 victors in a game that had nothing riding on it but still attracted a record crowd of 12,381.

The Breakers, who finish 24-4, were guaranteed top qualifying spot regardless of what happened in this game, while the Cats wind up on 22-6 and will be a warm favourite to win through to a grand final rematch against their Kiwi rivals.

It was a trademark Wildcats performance as they shook off the absence of defensive supremo Damian Martin with a heel injury and dominated the Breakers in all the hustle areas of the game.

The Cats pounded the Breakers on the boards (41-36 overall and 17-13 at the offensive end), finished with double the number of steals (8-3) and also forced 17 turnovers from the visitors, winning the points off turnover category by a resounding 18-6.

The golden rules for playing Perth are that you have to keep them off the offensive boards and you have to take care of the ball against their pressure defence. The Breakers did neither with anything resembling success and paid the price.

The Breakers trailed the whole way and were never able to match the intensity and desire of the Cats as they finished the regular season series with three wins from four against the back-to-back champions.

Corey Webster continued his solid form shooting the ball to pace the Breakers with 18 points on eight-of-12 shooting, while Mika Vukona was probably the sole visitor to match the intensity of the home club as he finished with a double-double of 11 points and 13 rebounds.

Notably Cedric Jackson (1/8 FG) and Tom Abercrombie (2/9 FG) had poor offensive nights as they combined for just three field goals between them, while the Breakers' defence, ball-security and rebounding was a long way below the level they'll need to hit in the playoffs.

The home side were led by a superb performance from southpaw American Kevin Lisch, who finished with 24 points on nine-of-17 shooting. The Breakers did a poor job of locating him, especially in the first half when he had 18 of his game-high points haul.

Matt Knight also made short work of Alex Pledger in the big man matchup, the Cats centre having his way with his Tall Black opposite en route to 12 points and 13 rebounds, while Shawn Redhage (14 points), Jesse Wagstaff (13) and Rhys Carter (10) were the other key contributors for the home side.

The Cats led by 14 (47-33) at halftime, mainly thanks to a resounding advantage on the offensive boards (10-4) and a 14-6 edge in points off turnovers as they forced the visitors to cough the ball up eight times.

The Breakers also struggled to contain the dangerous pairing of Lisch and Knight who combined for 28 first-half points to keep the home team's score ticking over on a regular basis.

The Cats had started with a hiss and a roar as they burst out of the blocks to a 13-1 lead and it was past the five-minute mark when the league leaders made their first field goal. Eventually they closed to within a point at the end of the opening quarter, but that would be the only time in this one-sided contest that the result was in doubt.

Both sides open their best-of-three semifinal series at home on Thursday.

Perth Wildcats 73 (Kevin Lisch 26, Shawn Redhage 14, Jesse Wagstaff 13, Matt Knight 12, Rhys Carter 10) NZ Breakers 58 (Corey Webster 18, Mika Vukona 11). 1Q: 16-15; HT: 47-33; 3Q: 61-42.

- © Fairfax NZ News