Basketball: New Zealand Breakers blown out by Tasmania Jackjumpers

Ousmane Dieng had his best game as a member of the NZ Breakers in the loss to Tasmania. Photo / Getty Images

The Breakers return to the NBL from a two-week layoff was something out of a movie.

Like you'll often see in sports films, there was a team who were impressive in every aspect, and one who was the complete opposite; the Tasmania Jackjumpers the former, the New Zealand side the latter.

The Breakers were blown away 83-59 in Tasmania last night, with the game as good as over before the first half was even over.

Sure, the Jackjumpers were on fire from three-point range, draining 14 of their 28 attempts from deep, but the troubles that have plagued the Breakers all season were again their downfall.

Once again, they were embarrassed on the glass, with the Jackjumpers outrebounding them 49-33 which included 15 offensive rebounds leading to a plethora of second chance opportunities.

Without import guard Peyton Siva, again out with injury, and his designated injury replacement player Chasson Randle also injured, the Breakers lacked in imagination and vision in their offensive sets. As they have done all season, the Breakers grew reliant on isolation basketball and the three-point shot, despite the fact it wasn't falling early and the Jackjumpers where have success working close looks inside.

It didn't take long before the Jackjumpers asserted themselves on the game as the Breakers' season-long defensive woes continued causing coach Dan Shamir into a frenzy during timeouts – if the sideline commentary is to be believed.

After the first quarter, the Breakers trailed by 10 points. They were still well and truly in the game at that point, but they needed to clean things up defensively.

Long story short, they did not.

Instead, the Jackjumpers exploded from beyond the three-point arc to blow the scoreline out to 26 points at half time; import guard Josh Magette seeming to have the ball on the string both with his shooting and playmaking.

It was a lead that the Breakers struggled to eat into during the second half. They had a little more success defensively, but their attack remained stagnant. Ultimately, the Jackjumpers cruised to a 24-point win.

While there was a lot not to like in the Breakers' performance, there was a faint bright spot in the performance of Next Star player Ousmane Dieng. The young Frenchman has struggled throughout the season with the physicality of the league and with his shooting. However, he was given extended minutes in the blow-out and made the most of them. His shot is still a work in progress, but he showed some strong work defensively in the second half and should take plenty of confidence out of the performance.

Fellow French guard Hugo Besson was again the main source of offence and led the rebounding for the Breakers, though he was a defensive liability, while centre Yanni Wetzell added 15 points but was outworked on the glass.

The Breakers will now have a few days to regroup before meeting the Illawarra Hawks on Wednesday.

NZ Breakers 59 (Hugo Besson 19 points, Yanni Wetzell 15)

Tasmania Jackjumpers 83 (Josh Magette 22 points, Jack McVeigh 17)

1Q: 13-23 HT: 27-53 3Q: 47-67