Reading's made a statement by beating KitKing Trophy finals opponents in league play in on Saturday before progressing in the National Cup, along with Derby, on Sunday.
There were D1 wins for Bristol Hurricanes, Loughborough Riders, Thames Valley Cavaliers and Hemel Storm too.
We take a look at all the weekend's action below, with links to box scores at the bottom of the page.
In an early preview of March’s KitKing Trophy, the Reading Rockets delivered the first blow by beating the Milton Keynes Breakers 92-73 at Bletchley on Saturday evening.
For the Rockets, a perfect way to bounce back after last Saturday’s 100-94 loss at home to Hemel Storm as they move to 6-3 this season.
But for the Breakers, they lose their fourth game in a row after winning their first two, dropping to 2-4.
Reading’s leading scorer this season, Justin Hopkins had his best game of the campaign, exploding for 33 points, shooting 70% from the field, along with an impressive seven steals.
Victor Olarerin added 25 points for the Rockets as the two formed a deadly duo that terrorised MK all game long as their lead peaked at 19.
The hosts did pull the deficit back to six, three minutes into the fourth quarter, but Reading had too much firepower, comfortably cruising to their sixth win of the season.
Kai Walker led the Breakers with 17 points and eight rebounds as he went 3/4 from three-point land.
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Hemel Storm (7-0) remained perfect as they beat Nottingham Hoods (2-7) 99-88 at the Hemel Hempstead Leisure Centre.
Darien Nelson-Henry hit 33 points in just 28 minutes along with seven rebounds to lead the Storm, shooting an eye-watering 13/15 from the field. Sam Newman (17 points, 10 assists, 7 steals) and Matt Ellis (20 points, 12 rebounds) secured double-doubles in the win.
Greg Skoric amassed 22 points and 10 rebounds for his own double-double for the Hoods.
Derby Trailblazers (7-1) are hot on the Storm’s trail as they downed Loughborough Riders (4-3) 94-83 at Loughborough University. However, the Riders did get a win to close the weekend, as a pair of free throws from Justin Hedley gave his side an 82-80 win over the Hoods at Wildcats Arena.
Bradford Dragons (0-7) were so close, but once again came up short as a Juan Manning basket with eight seconds left handed Thames Valley Cavaliers (4-3) a 76-73 win.
Andreas Lycoudis had an opportunity to take the game to overtime, but his three missed its mark, giving TVC its first road win of the campaign, with Manning leading the Cavaliers with 18 points.
Micah Savery-Richards led the Dragons with 24 points and five rebounds.
Despite Bristol Hurricanes’ (4-3) fluctuating form, they will look to their convincing 95-71 win over City of Birmingham Rockets (5-3) as a starting point for more wins.
Jules Dang Akodo was perfect from the field, going 6/6 from the floor, draining five three-pointers for his team-high 17 points.
The Round of 16 is finalised after the final two games took place on Sunday, and it was a clean sweep for the NBL1 sides against lower league opposition.
Derby Trailblazers breezed past NBL2 North side Leicester Warriors 122-86 behind a 32-point, 12-rebound double-double by Mo Walker in just 27 minutes on the floor. Derby saw six players in double figures, and shot 56% from the field.
Reading Rockets safely made it to the next round with a 97-58 win at Richmond Knights. Lewis Champion led the winners with 23 points, supported by 13 from Justin Hopkins.
5pm - Milton Keynes Breakers 73-92 Reading Rockets - LIVE STATS
5:30pm - Bristol Hurricanes 95-71 City of Birmingham Rockets - LIVE STATS / LIVE STREAM
6pm - Loughborough Riders 94-83 Derby Trailblazers - LIVE STATS
6:15pm - Bradford Dragons 73-76 Thames Valley Cavaliers - LIVE STATS
7pm - Hemel Storm 99-88 Nottingham Hoods - LIVE STATS / LIVE STREAM
7pm - Nottingham Hoods 80-82 Loughborough Riders (AOT) - LIVE STATS
4:30pm - Leicester Warriors 86-122 Derby Trailblazers - LIVE STATS
7:20pm - Reading Rockets 97-58 Richmond Knights (played at Richmond) - LIVE STATS
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Main image credit - Charlie Dodd
