The NZ Breakers have suffered a heavy 109-71 defeat to Illawarra Hawks in Wollongong on Thursday night.
From the get-go it was Illawarra scoring strong with 32 points to just 12 in the first quarter and went on with the job from there to end up blowing it out late for the 38-point win to improve to 8-4 on the season.
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The Breakers welcomed in the NBL's tallest ever player for the first time with the 228cm (7'6") Fall playing having been signed to replace the departed Freddie Gillespie.
In his 14 minutes in the game, Fall showed some signs that he can be a dominant presence at times in the league at both ends when he is around the basket. He made four points and pulled down five rebounds and had five blocks.
Despite the Breakers losing by 38 points, Fall was only -10 in his time on the floor where he finished with four points, five rebounds and five blocks.
However, the Hawks had too many weapons and were on top right from the start ending up with 51 rebounds to 33 for the game with six players scoring in double-digits led by Lachlan Olbrich with a career-high 21 on 8/9 shooting. Trey Kell III also had 17 points, four rebounds and four assists,
It was a tough night for New Zealand who shot just 35 per cent overall with Parker Jackson-Cartwright finishing with 19 points, three rebounds and three assists while Mojave King returned from injury for 11 points in 21 minutes.
Both teams had a host of players back from international duties over the FIBA break, but it was the Hawks who came out ready to fire including scoring 15 consecutive points in the first quarter capped off by a Wani Swaka Lo Buluk three-pointer.
Lachlan Olbrich then finished off the quarter with a dunk in transition after a dribble around his back to get by his defender and the Hawks were well on top with the 32-12 advantage by quarter-time.
It was another 20 points to 17 from the Hawks in the second quarter to see the home team remain in control at 52-29 going into the break with Swaka Lo Buluk the star with 13 points on a perfect 4/4 shooting.
The Hawks also had 31 rebounds to 20 with New Zealand only shooting at 27 per cent from the floor and an abysmal 2/17 from downtown with Tacko Fall playing his first seven NBL minutes for two points, five rebounds and five blocks.
The Breakers did come out a different looking unit in the third quarter and they put up 27 points on the back of just 29 in the entire first half.
That included going 4/8 from downtown as their shot started to fall and the Breakers had cut the Hawks lead back to 16 by three quarter-time.
Illawarra scored the first 10 of the final quarter and that was enough to secure the eventual 38-point victory thanks to their 37 points in the final quarter.
Parker Jackson-Cartwright again showed his worth with 19 points, but lacked any backup. King was the only other player to make double figures with 11, which Sam Mennenga made nine and six rebounds.
The Breakers head west to take on the Perth Wildcats on Sunday in the 'Distance Derby'.
Illawarra Hawks 109 (Lachlan Olbrich 21, Trey Kell III 17, Tyler Harvey 15) NZ Breakers 71 (Parker Jackson-Cartwright 19, Mojave King 11, Sam Mennenga 9)