Wellington, Feb 14 NZPA - The New Zealand Breakers' late playoff bid came up painfully short despite clocking a sixth straight win to end their Australian National Basketball League campaign in Cairns last night.

The fifth-placed Breakers beat the Cairns Taipans 84-79 to end the season with a 15-win 13-loss record. However, it wasn't enough to overhaul the two teams ahead of them, with Gold Coast and Wollongong scraping inside the top four with 16-12 records.

The Breakers needed the Gold Coast Blaze to lose their final match away to Melbourne last night but they never came close, with the Blaze running away 91-73 winners.

The Breakers knew their fate as the match at a sold-out Cairns Convention Centre came to a finish, their shoulders slumped as they realised their late-season surge had come to nothing.

It was also a bittersweet night for league legend Tony Ronaldson, playing his 665th and final game. Ronaldson contributed 17 points, including four three-pointers.

Kirk Penney and CJ Bruton were the chief destroyers with 27 and 22 points respectively while Dusty Rychart top-scored for the Taipans with 21 of his 24 points coming in the first half as the seventh-placed Taipans ground out a 45-44 lead.

A big third-quarter -- won 23-15 by the Breakers -- proved decisive, as did three-point shooting where Ronaldson and Bruton were both successful four times.

However, the Breakers, regarded by many as ANBL favourites when the season tipped off, were left to reflect on a mid-season slump which ultimately condemned them to their fate.

Their fortunes dipped courtesy of several fourth-quarter blowouts when they had matches in their control, particularly during a run of four consecutive home losses.

League leaders Perth and Townsville were to meet in Perth tonight, with the winners finishing top of the table.

Result: New Zealand Breakers 84 (Kirk Penney 23, CJ Bruton 22, Tony Ronaldson 17) Cairns Taipans 79 (Dusty Rychart 24, Phill Jones 15, Aaron Grabau 15). Halftime: 44-45.