Breakers coach Petteri Koponen Photo: Blake Armstrong / PHOTOSPORT
The New Zealand Breakers remain winless in the Australian National Basketball League after suffering their third straight loss.
They went down 89-78 to the Perth Wildcats in Auckland, as the visitors made a strong finish to grab their first win of the season.
The Breakers trailed for much of the game but had all the momentum at the start of the fourth quarter scoring 15 straight points.
However, Perth responded well, scoring the next 17 points.
The Breakers are now 0-3 to start the season, despite Parker Jackson-Cartwright finishing with 18 points and five assists.
Karim Lopez had 16 points and seven rebounds.
"Disappointed, we had a chance today the effort was there but down the stretch they made a run, had some big plays and we couldn't finish the job when we were up," said Breakers coach Petteri Koponen.
"The effort was there but we just need to get better at securing things under pressure and win those small margins."
The Breakers will play in Sydney next weekend.
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