Mooney and King shine in the NBA duel

Matt Mooney and Mojave King combined for seven three-pointers in the first half to get the New Zealand Breakers off to a hot start as they concluded their NBLxNBA tour, before Ousmane Dieng, Alex Ducas and the Oklahoma City Thunder won 117-89.

The Breakers played their third game on their trip to the United States this week after making an impressive start to the NBL25 with wins against the Brisbane Bullets and South East Melbourne Phoenix.

They arrived at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, without the services of Next Star Karim Lopez, former NBA big men Jonah Bolden and Tacko Fall, and veteran NBL center Dane Pineau.

The Thunder were also without a number of key players, including Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren, but they had former Breakers Next Star Dieng and West Australian product as well as Saint Mary's alum Ducas with them for the match.

The Breakers then shot lights out in the first half, led by Mooney and King, scoring 36 points in the first quarter and 60 in the first half, but the Thunder worked from there on top and eventually secured the 28-point lead -Victory.

Mooney was the best player for New Zealand with 19 points, seven rebounds and three assists on 5/9 three-point shooting, while King contributed 16 points and had five boards while shooting 5/9 from downtown.

Parker Jackson-Cartwright finished his impressive week against NBA opponents with another 16 points and eight assists, with Sam Mennenga contributing nine points and three rebounds and Grant Anticevich adding eight points and four boards.

Freddie Gillespie also had six points, eight rebounds and two blocks for the Breakers, while Sean Bairstow contributed four points, four boards and three assists.

Former Breakers Next star Ousmane Dieng finished the game with 20 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists for Oklahoma City, while Alex Ducas also stood out with 15 points and four boards.

Adam Flagler was the Thunder's leading scorer with 25 points, while Dillon Jones added 23 points, 13 rebounds, five assists, four steals and two blocks.

Undeterred by the 55-point loss three nights earlier against the Philadelphia 76ers, the Breakers prevailed against Tulsa on Thursday evening and shined with their shooting success in the first quarter.

New Zealand put up 36 points in the opening period, with Matt Mooney on fire with four three-pointers within the first five minutes of the game.

That gave the Breakers a 36-34 lead at the end of the first quarter, and the score was still tied at halftime, with Mooney and Mojave King combining for 25 points and shooting 7-8 from three-point territory between them.

The Breakers had a more difficult time offensively in the second half, scoring just 16 points in the third quarter and 13 in the fourth, while the Thunder ended up winning by 38 points.

The Breakers now return to the NBL season next Thursday evening, traveling to face the Brisbane Bullets before hosting the Perth Wildcats on their homecoming on Saturday.

NBLxNBA TOUR 2024

NEW ZEALAND BREAKERS 89 (Mooney 19, Jackson-Cartwright 16, King 16)

OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER 117 (Flagler 25, Jones 23, Dieng 20)

BOX score