Breakers captain Tom Abercrombie. Photo: Alan Lee / www.photosport.nz
The New Zealand Breakers have yet to beat an NBA side after five attempts.
On Tuesday the Auckland-based Australian NBL side lost the second game of this year's US tour, going down 114-94 to the Utah Jazz.
Last week the Breakers had a heavy loss against the Portland Trail Blazers.
In 2019 the Breakers lost to the Memphis Grizzlies and Oklahoma City Thunder by double digits, the year earlier they pushed the Phoenix Suns close but still fell five points short.
Against the Jazz, the Breakers were behind by 20 points after the first quarter as they struggled to score and never fully recovered.
Finding their range in the second quarter, the Breakers scored 32 points to the home side's 28, to reduce the Jazz's lead to 59-43 at half-time.
Both sides were neck-and-neck in the third quarter but the Jazz held a 84-65 advantage going into the final period.
Breakers guard Will McDowell-White took a heavy hit late in the fourth quarter when he was contesting a rebound which could be a concern for the club.
In his second game for the Breakers, American import small forward Anthony Lamb top scored with 23 points.
American point guard Parker Jackson-Cartwright was the other major contributor in the loss with 19 points.
The Breakers' Next Star Mantas Rubstavicius got his first minutes this season after being sidelined with a groin injury since pre-season.
For the Jazz small forward Lauri Markkanen lead the way in scoring with 15 points and he also took 7 rebounds in his 17 minutes on court.
The Adelaide 36ers are the only NBL side to beat an NBA team since the start of the cross-over series in 2017. The 36ers won 134-124 over the Phoenix Suns in 2022.
The Breakers now return to Australia for their next NBL game against Melbourne United on Sunday.
-RNZ
