AAP
The normally relentless New Zealand Breaker juggernaut stumbled its way to the NBL minor premiership on Sunday and made the scramble for the last two playoff places even more congested.
The Breakers (23-3) notched their 15th straight win and remained on course for a third straight title with a 79-74 away victory over Melbourne (10-14).
The Tigers' loss dropped them from third to fifth, with just two wins separating third from seventh with only two rounds to go.
Only eighth and last-placed Adelaide are out of contention to make the top four and seal a playoff berth.
Wollongong and Sydney (both 11-15) moved above Melbourne, despite both NSW teams losing their latest game.
The two rivals meet in Wollongong on Friday in a match critical to both clubs' finals aspirations.
The Breakers enjoyed a 21-point halftime buffer against Melbourne, but that was wiped out with five and a half minutes to go and they were outscored 42-26 in the second half.
"Obviously we dried up offensively, but defensively was where it started," Breakers coach Andrej Lemanis said.
"We took our foot off the accelerator.
"We weren't ruthless and relentless, which is what we speak about as a team."
Former Tiger Daryl Corletto topscored for the Breakers with 20, 15 of them in the first half, while Chris Goulding paced Melbourne with 23.
Perth (20-6) will finish second after a crushing 83-56 home win over Sydney.
Shawn Redhage scored 23 and Matthew Knight 19, but Perth had issues on offence, shooting just 39 per cent from the field.
While Sydney were crushed by Perth, Wollongong suffered a 69-64 away loss to Townsville (9-16) who kept alive their own faint finals hopes.
The Hawks slashed a 12-point final quarter deficit to one with under 20 seconds to go, but couldn't catch a Crocs side sparked by 24 points from import guard Gary Ervin.
Cairns (10-15) also stayed in finals contention after contesting two close games in the round.
They led the Breakers for much of their clash in Auckland before losing 80-77, but hit back to win 70-69 at Adelaide (8-18), despite 36ers big man Daniel Johnson's 21 points and 13 rebounds.
A Jamar Wilson free throw inside the last 20 seconds secured the precious win for Cairns.
"It keeps us alive," said Cairns coach Aaron Fearne."
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