NZ Breakers have fallen to another defeat in their NBA x NBL tour, going down 114-94 to Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City on Tuesday (NZ time).
The result is an improvement of their effort less than a week ago, when they were trounced 106-66 by the Portland Trail Blazers in Oregon.
Last year's NBL finalists were no match for the hosts, who closed out the first quarter with a commanding 31-11 lead and never looked back.
The Jazz made life difficult for the Breakers at the defensive end of the court, in large part due to the presence of shotblocker extraordinaire Walker Kessler, restricting their overall team field goal percentage to 40.5 percent.
The Breakers rallied late against the depths of the Jazz bench to cut their deficit to as little as 13 points, before the locals pulled away late.
New recruit Anthony Lamb was the best of the Breakers, with the former Golden State Warriors forward contributing 23 points and seven boards on an efficient 9/15 shooting.
Point guard import Parker Jackson-Cartwright added 19 points, five rebounds and six assists.
All Star Lauri Markkanen put up 15 points and seven rebounds for the Jazz in just 17 minutes on court.
The Breakers now return down under to resume their 2023/24 ANBL campaign against Melbourne United on Sunday.
They currently sit fifth in the competition standings, with a win and a loss in their first two games.
