KEY POINTS:
The New Zealand Breakers finished their five-match pre-season basketball tour of Australia with two wins and three losses after the Brisbane Bullets beat them 119-91 last night.
The Bullets shot out to a 61-49 halftime lead and cruised to the win on the strength of a high-pressure defence that harried the Breakers into errors.
"We were forced to play freelance basketball," Breakers coach Andrej Lemanis said last night.
"And we weren't that good at it tonight."
Lemanis said his new roster needed to back their ability and be more aggressive.
"We learnt a lot about ourselves on this trip. Defence is the area we've spent most time on and we've shown good signs there, but we've been exposed in our offensive execution and that will be a focus in the next week.
"We also need to develop a killer instinct so that if we generate an advantage, we ram it home."
The Breakers return home today to prepare for their season opener against the Cairns Taipans at the North Shore Events Centre on September 20.
Result
Brisbane Bullets 119, NZ Breakers 91 (Rick Rickert 17, Oscar Forman 15, Tony Ronaldson 12, Paora Winitana 11, Wayne Turner 10, Paul Henare 10). Halftime: 61-49.
- NZPA
