Nenad Vucinic's young Tall Blacks team got a tough introduction to international basketball, falling 79-67 to China in Yinchuan, northern China.
The New Zealanders - ranked 20th in the world and featuring five rookies - lead the 11th-ranked Chinese 54-48 in the third quarter before falling away and being outscored 31-13 the rest of the way.
From trailing by six, China went on a 17-1 run straddling the third and fourth quarters to extend their lead to double-digits. They stretched their lead to 16 in the fourth quarter before the Tall Blacks stopped the rot.
New Zealand led 23-20 after the first quarter but were outscored 17-12 in the second period to trail by two at halftime. After a slow second-half start, China outscored the tourists 42-32.
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