Captain Tom Abercrombie became his club's leading all-time scorer, helping the NZ Breakers to an unlikely 88-81 road win over defending ANBL champions Melbourne United.
After struggling to find the basket in their season-opening loss to Brisbane on Thursday, the small forward scored 16 points, exactly enough to pass Kirk Penney as the club's top scorer with 3227 points in 276 games.
With new ownership making sweeping changes over the off-season, including a vastly changed playing roster, a new coach and new playing style, the Auckland-based franchise was under early pressure to find winning form.
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And they bounced back from a disappointing opener to ambush Melbourne in a much-improved performance.
The home side led early, enjoying a 28-19 advantage through the first quarter, but the Breakers began to find their groove before half-time, scoring seven unanswered points to sweep into the lead.
Their advantage stretched to 12 points early in the fourth quarter, but Melbourne closed to within four down the stretch, before American Patrick Richard sealed the result with a three-point inside the final minute.
Forward Tai Wesley, part of Melbourne's championship team last season, led the Breakers with 25 points, including a perfect 7/7 from the free-throw line, with Richard also reaching double-figure scoring. His 15 points included three three-pointers.
The Breakers' cause was helped by a healthy 26 offensive rebounds, eight steals and only five turnovers, which saw them attempt 20 more shots than their opponents.
The result continued a stunning trend through the new season's opening round - no home teams had won through first six games.
The Breakers take host the Sydney Kings, including former NBA star Andrew Bogut, at Auckland's Spark Arena next Sunday.
Newshub.
