Another Casey Prather masterclass has helped the Brisbane Bullets snap a three-game NBL losing streak with an 83-74 win over the New Zealand Breakers.
Prather (31 points, 10 rebounds) stood tall in the absence of fellow imports Keandre Cook (groin) and Josh Adams (ankle) at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre on Wednesday night to have the Bullets within touching distance of the top six.
Brisbane big man Tyrell Harrison sat out the closing stages of the opening term after copping an accidental head hit from Breaker Mitch McCarron, before he passed a concussion assessment and went on to compile 13 points and 10 boards.
"Tonight was another one of those nights where we had a lot going against the grain for us," Bullets coach Justin Schueller said.
"We needed someone to step up. I told him (Prather) I dreamt about him taking 40 shots - he only took 26!
"For him to come out with that assertive mindset was outstanding."
American Matt Mooney (21 points) shrugged off foul problems and the pesky tagging of Bullets' defensive specialist Mitch Norton to be the only NZ player to reach double digits.
It was a scrappy affair for most of the evening, particularly early when the teams combined for 8-of-17 free throws and 2-of-11 three-pointers before quarter-time.
Brisbane had 10 more shot attempts but their wayward finishing meant NZ held sway 17-15 at the first change.
Prather single-handedly put the Bullets in command in the second quarter, scoring 13 of his side's 23 points.
Isaac White's third trey from as many attempts helped Brisbane move ahead 38-35 at half-time.
Despite Mooney and Tacko Fall's foul issues, NZ trimmed the margin to three points before the Bullets stalled the ninth-placed Breakers' momentum, Harrison's tip-jam in the shadows of three-quarter-time stretching the hosts' cushion to 58-50.
After Harrison got going to increase the gap to 11 points, Mooney buried back-to-back triples to make it a five-point ballgame inside the last minute, before Prather completely took over again down the stretch.
"We had many empty possessions," Breakers coach Petteri Koponen said.
"We had some wide-open shots but couldn't score the ball.
"On the road you need to play better basketball and we weren't able to do that."
