The Tall Blacks maintained their unbeaten record at the Shikoku Basketball Classic, defeating the local Liaoning side 67-61 at Szenchen, China.
Captain Mika Vukona was again a huge influence through the final stages, after the scores were tied 51-51 early in the fourth quarter.
The result was New Zealand's third straight win, as they prepare for next month's Fiba Oceania Championship series against Australia.
Liaoning, made up primarily of players from the local club that made the Chinese Basketball Association quarter-finals, were also unbeaten coming into this fixture and took an initial edge through the long-range shooting of Lu Wei.
The Tall Blacks suffered the early loss of swingman Tom Abercrombie, who appeared to suffer an ankle injury while attempting to block one of Lu's three-pointers and never returned to the game.