Breakers bt Melb in game one of NBL semis

Melbourne United face an uphill battle to reach their first NBL grand final after falling in a fourth-quarter hole and falling 91-82 on Thursday to the New Zealand Breakers at Hisense Arena.

The victory gives New Zealand a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three semi-final series, and puts them within reach of their fifth grand final in six years.

After a blistering 25-10 start, the Breakers scored just 13 points in the next 12 minutes and Melbourne looked set to run away with the game, but the titleholders' ability to turn United mistakes into quick points was the difference in a match-winning 10-0 burst in the final term.

Cedric Jackson (20 points) and Corey Webster (14) were the masters in transition, Tom Abercrombie (16) repeatedly made key plays in the half-court, while Mika Vukona (11 points, 13 rebounds, five assists) kept Melbourne star Daniel Kickert to just six points.

New Zealand have won six straight games, including three in a row over Melbourne, and will enter Saturday's game two in Auckland as short-priced favourites.

Hakim Warrick (24 points, 13 rebounds) and Chris Goulding (23 points) were outstanding for Melbourne but, when their stars weren't scoring, there simply wasn't enough support, and they can ill afford to give up 18 offensive rebounds in game two.

The Breakers looked like the defending champions from the opening tip, getting their hands on everything defensively and executing precisely in attack, Jackson bagging seven points as they sprinted 15 points clear.

Melbourne switched to zone, inserted Warrick and swung the momentum, bringing the deficit back to eight on the opening play of the second term. Six more points from Warrick were followed by an audacious Goulding three-pointer and United were in front, 41-38 at halftime.

The hosts extended that lead to seven on the back of eight quick points from Goulding, but United turnovers and missed shots triggered the Breakers' transition game once more and they took a 62-58 edge into the final term.

Goulding and Warrick pulled Melbourne within a point early in the fourth but, from there, New Zealand unleashed their run, Jackson and Webster a deadly combination in transition.

United were the NBL's best road team during the regular season, winning at five opposition venues en route to a 7-7 away record, but they haven't won on the other side of the Tasman in their two-year history.