NZ dominate Bullets who lose Prather

The New Zealand Breakers put on a stunning show at both ends in the first half with 68 points on the way to beating the Brisbane Bullets 113-84 who might have lost superstar Casey Prather to a knee injury.

Prather returned from being out of the game for two and-a-half years when he arrived in Brisbane just on two years ago before then having a standout NBL25, and now going up another level this season.

He was a lone shining light on a horror night at the Gold Coast Sport and Leisure Centre on Wednesday night too with 26 points, eight rebounds and four assists before landing badly on his knee going up for a layup early in the fourth quarter.

Prather appeared to immediately know what he had done and left the court devastated while the Breakers completed the job on the eventual 29-point victory.

Having scored just 79 and 72 points in tight losses to Sydney and Adelaide last round, the Breakers put up 68 points in the first half to be leading by 32 by half-time on the back of a 41-point second term.

In that second frame, New Zealand's defensive pressure lit up their offence where they shot 15/18 from the field and 6/7 from downtown to blow Brisbane away.

The Bullets came back from 24 points down to beat the Breakers in their last meeting, there were no signs of that this time around with New Zealand claiming six of the seven Ignite Cup points on offer.

Sam Mennenga got the better of his Tall Blacks big men battle with 25 points and six rebounds on 10/16 shooting with Parker Jackson-Cartwright putting on a clinic with 15 points and seven assists.

Izaiah Brockington added 19 points on 8/10 shooting, Karim Lopez 13 points, six rebounds and five assists, and Rob Baker II 12 points and 11 boards with New Zealand shooting 58 per cent for the game with 12/24 from downtown.

It was a horror night for Brisbane going 6/34 from behind the arc and outside of what Prather provided, Dakota Mathias had 12 points, Harrison 11 points and seven rebounds, and Alex Ducas 11 points, five assists and three steals.

The Bullets rallied after Prather's injury to win the final quarter and at least take one point from the Ignite Cup presented by Disney+.

Both teams back up to play on the road on Saturday with the Bullets taking on the league-leading Melbourne United while the Breakers face a Perth Wildcats back home after beating Bryce Cotton's Adelaide 36ers.

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL SEASON 2025/26

BRISBANE BULLETS 84 (Prather 26, Mathias 12, Harrison 11, Ducas 11)

NEW ZEALAND BREAKERS 113 (Mennenga 25, Brockington 19, Jackson-Cartwright 15)

BOX SCORE