The Tall Blacks' quest at basketball's Asia Cup is over, after falling to an 85-76 defeat to Australia in the semi-finals at Jakarta, Indonesia.
After an even first quarter that saw Australia take a 23-19 lead, the second quarter saw the Tall Blacks fail to keep up with their opposition, entering halftime down by 12 at 49-37.
But despite trailing at the interval, the second half belonged to New Zealand - the only issue was the size of the gap they had to make up.
A drawn 17-all third quarter sent the sides into the final spell at 66-54 in Australia's favour, before the Tall Blacks took honours in the last quarter, winning it 22-19 in a classic case of too little, too late.
Sam Timmins led the way for the Tall Blacks with 16 points and eight rebounds, while Flynn Cameron continued his impressive vein of form with 15 points, seven rebounds and four assists.
Jordan Hunt finished as the equal leading point scorer alongside Timmins, adding 16 along with three blocks.
Thon Maker stood out for Australia with 18 points and nine rebounds, as William McDowell-White had 15 points and seven assists. Mitchell McCarron added another 13 points and seven assists.
While out of the running for gold, the Tall Blacks will take part in Monday's bronze medal playoff, facing Jordan, who fell to an 86-85 defeat to Lebanon in the second semi-final.
New Zealand 76 (Timmins 16, Hunt 16, Cameron 15)
Australia 85 (Maker 18, McDowell-White 15, McCarron 13, Proctor 13)
