Mitsubishi Match Recap: NBL25 Round 16 v New Zealand Breakers

Melbourne United have picked up another last-second win, this time on the road against the New Zealand Breakers.

United got off to a hot start, scoring the first seven points of the contest through Matthew Dellavedova and Chris Goulding.

Having tallied eight straight games where he has made at least three triples, Goulding ticked that box within the first few minutes, splashing his second and third long range makes to put the visitors up by as many as six points.

Despite this, nine unanswered points from the Breakers flipped the lead, with New Zealand able to go ahead 26-25.

With both Rob Loe and Marcus Lee in foul trouble, Akech Aliir made his mark right away to start the second period.

The athletic big got on the glass for a pair of putback finishes inside, while Goulding continued to damage from the land of plenty, knocking down two more three-pointers.

Floaters from Dellavedova and Ian Clark helped keep the scoreboard ticking along for Melbourne, however they weren’t ultimately able to make any inroads into the New Zealand lead, still trailing by one point at the major break.

Having carried over his hot-hand into the third, Goulding got going right away, connecting on another three in United’s first play of the third.

He would bring his total up to 27 points by the end of the quarter, getting to the free-throw line to supplement his scoring effort.

Outside of this, scores from Ili and Dellavedova kept the game close until the final few possessions, where the Breakers were able to string a number of buckets together to go ahead 71-62 with 10 minutes to play.

Having played limited minutes because of fouls, Lee came into the game and skied high to start the fourth, slamming home an alley-oop jam from Dellavedova.

Aggressive play at both ends quickly erased the deficit Melbourne faced heading into the period, however with the game in the balance, Goulding shined.

Trailing by two late, the superstar got to the rim to tie the game before hitting his ninth three of the game to give United back the lead.

While a late three from the Breakers put the home side back in front with five second remaining, Goulding wasn’t done, coming off a Jack White handoff to win the game with a career-best 10th triple.

Goulding finished with 42 points in the 91-89 victory.

Melbourne will look to build on their league-best road record on Saturday 18 January in a top-of-the-table clash against the Illawarra Hawks from 8pm.

Fans can tune in on ESPN.