ALTHOUGH it was not exactly the trip to the United States they were hoping for, the New Zealand Breakers delivered their best performance yet in the loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday morning.

The clash marked the last of the NBL x NBA preseason clashes, with the Breakers missing the last two rounds of the NBL season. Their first two losses were quite brutal, particularly the defeat at the hands of the Philadelphia 76ers, which came with a margin of 55 points.

However, New Zealand looked much more competitive against Oklahoma City, and although it still resulted in a 28-point loss, the signs were much more promising.

Oklahoma City Thunder (117) def. New Zealand Breakers (89)

It was an inspiring performance from the Breakers to open the game, shooting the lights out in the first half in their best display of offence produced in their three games this week. On the back of some terrific perimeter presence from Mojave King, New Zealand put up a whopping 36 points in the first quarter alone in a statement period from the visiting side.

The Breakers continued to make their mark on the offensive end, finishing the first half with 60 points to their name to give the Thunder a real scare. Although Oklahoma City was missing some big names, it was taking nothing away from New Zealand’s improved effort.

The ball did not find the bottom of the net as easily in the second half, with the Breakers producing just 29 points in the entire second half as the Thunder overran them for a 28-point victory in front of their home crowd, but New Zealand should still hold its head high.

King was electric for the Breakers, particularly in the first half where he hit five triples and torched the Thunder from long range. He finished the game with 16 points in an exciting performance from the wing against an NBA side.

Also catching the eye was guard Matt Mooney, who scored a team-high 19 points on 5/9 shooting from behind the arc along with seven rebounds and three assists in a standout showing on the scoring front, also showing a premier perimeter presence alongside King.

Import point guard Parker Jackson-Cartwright was his usual productive self and capped off a consistent week against NBA sides with 16 points and eight assists.

Former NBL Next Star and Breaker Ousmane Dieng was representing the Thunder in the match too, and starred for his team with a near-triple-double of 20 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists in a seriously exciting performance.