Trail Blazers defeat Breakers

Thursday, October 12, 2023

A final quarter blitz from Portland has seen the Trail Blazers defeat New Zealand by 40 points.

The New Zealand Breakers have opened their NBLxNBA campaign with a 40-point loss to Portland, in what was a reunion between Mody Maor’s men and former Next Star Rayan Rupert.

Rupert played a key role in the Breakers’ run to the NBL23 Championship Series before being drafted by the Trail Blazers with the 43^rd pick in the NBA Draft. He subsequently signed a multi-year deal with the side.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Bring on the second? <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UNBREAKABLE?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#UNBREAKABLE</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBLxNBA?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBLxNBA</a> <a href="https://t.co/HaiOx2Et2k">pic.twitter.com/HaiOx2Et2k</a></p>— BNZ Breakers (@NZBreakers) <a href="https://twitter.com/NZBreakers/status/1711947296165052779?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 11, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

New Breakers signing Anthony Lamb featured for New Zealand after only linking up with the team yesterday, and finished the game with nine points and four rebounds, while Boomers pair Duop Reath and Matisse Thybulle both impressed for Portland.

New Zealand entered quarter-time level with their NBA counterparts on 23 apiece, but the Blazers flexed their muscles in the fourth quarter to extend the final margin to 40.

Import guard Parker Jackson-Cartwright top-scored for the Breakers with 19 points, while Zylan Cheatham registered an 11-point, 10-rebound double-double.

The Breakers’ NBLxNBA tour will continue on Tuesday when they face the Utah Jazz.