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New Zealand - 93 83 - Montenegro
End of fourth quarter - Read a full game wrap here.
1 mins - Another Needham three closes the gap. NZ miss and Needham launches another but Tai Webster closes out with a fantastic block. Fotu fouled, makes one of two and this one is done.
2 mins - Abercrombie launches a three, in and out but Fotu is on hand with the tip-in. Time out Montenegro. Radoncic three, but a lovely backdoor cut sees Webster connect to Webster on the alley oop.
3 mins - Vucevic finally gets back on the board with his trademark soft jump-hook. Loe fouled at the other end, sinks both. Montenegro with a terrible inbounds turnover and they'll need something special from here.
4 mins - Needham three pointer for Montenegro, and Abercrombie replies with three of his own.
5 mins - Smith-Milner with the circus-shot going to the basket. Montenegro starting to go cold from deep. Fotu back in the game and he into the action, head fakes the three and goes to the rim, hoop plus the harm to open a 10-point advantage.
6 mins - Ili with the tear-drop floater to lift the lead to eight.
8 mins - Corey Webster sizes up his defender, crosses over then nails the three in his face. Time out called. Follows that with some great hustle to dive and secure a loose ball. Webster comes off a pin-down, rises and drills another three. The man is cooking.
9 mins - Smith-Milner splashes a three from the top of the arc.
10 mins - Popovic finishes the break to give his side their first lead since early in the first quarter.
Third quarter (NZ - 66, Montenegro - 65)
1 min - Fotu cops a heavy elbow to the temple from his own man on the rebound, heads to the bench. NZ will need him down the stretch. Vucevic blocked at the rim, responds with one of hiw own at the other end of the court to close the quarter.
2 mins - Vucevic makes its a one-point game with a pair of free throws, and NZ trun the ball over yet again. Momentum beginning to swing.
3 mins - Ili off the bench and into the action instantly, driving the lane for two.
4 mins - The Montenegro bigs going to work inside, securing rebound after rebound on the offensive end. Dubljevic leading the charge, draws a foul and sinks both to make it a three-point game.
5 mins - On cue, Vucevic steps up and splashes a big three. Now it's the Montenegro assistant coach copping a technical foul, could they lose both of their coaches? Webster fouled as he comes off a screen to shoot a three, he'll step to the line with three attempts.
6 mins - Vucevic scores inside and draws the foul. Montenegro need some magic from their NBA star.
7 mins - T. Webster defensive rebound, great vision as he looks up immediately and finds Fotu streaking to the rim.
8 mins - C. Webster drives to the left and finishes. Fotu spins baseline and finishes plus the foul.
9 mins - Popovic quick first step to get to the rim and lay it in. Big block inside on Abercrombie.
HALFTIME (NZ - 63, Montenegro - 44)
Second quarter
1 min - Tai Webster cuts baseline and gets a wide open finger roll. Montenegro's coach cops his second technical foul and he's been thrown out of the game with an entire half to play! Huge blow. Tai Webster with a pretty foray to the rim to score as the half winds down.
2 mins - Fouls both ways, both teams in the penalty.
3 mins - Ili down the lane, gets a bail-out foul. Drills both. Ili with the tough defence, draws the offensive foul.
4 mins - Smith-Milner rebounds his own free throw miss and gets the putback. That's a rare occurance. Popovic converts the fast break off the steal.
5 mins - Ivanovic replies with a three with the shot clock expiring. Smith-Milner drives off the Loe offensive rebound, hits the deck hard. Foul called.
6 mins - Abercrombie defensive rebound, takes it the length of the court and goes to the rim, fouled hard and he'll go to the line. Makes one of two. Full court press from NZ comes up trumps, Webster nabs the steal then steps behind the arc and drains a three. Press comes up big again, Rusbatch with the steal, Webster finds Loe at the top of the arc who splashes another three to give NZ their largest lead of the game.
8 mins - Pledger hits the deck diving for a loose ball, what a sight that is. Ili stung with a five-second violation on the inbound. Dubljevic with the soft touch near the rim to tie the game.
9 mins - Steal Abercrombie, finds Fotu quickly who again draws the foul. Makes both. Sehovic hits the corner three. Fotu with the 13-footer on the angle, scoring from all over the court.
10 mins - Fotu working hard in the low post, earns a foul for his efforts. Splits them at the line.
First quarter (NZ - 31, Montenegro - 26)
1 min - More free throws for Ili. Montenegro coach not happy with the call, earns a technical foul for his outburst. Fotu underneath again with the bucket. Ivanovic steal, breaks and draws the contact. Sinks both shots and that will do us for the opening quarter.
2 mins - Ili crossover at mid-court breaks Radonic's ankles and sends him sliding to the floor as the crowd gasps. That was nasty. Fotu fouled, makes one of two.
3 mins - NZ into the penalty early. Ili pulls up at the elbow, takes a shot to the arm and will head to the line. Two from two. Tai Webster steal, Fotu on the low block, puts his defender into the double-spin cycle and nails the baby hook.
4 mins - Dubljevic splashes a three. Rusbastch replies with one of his own. Delaney drives hard to the rim, hacked and he'll go to the line. Sinks both freebies.
5 mins - Webster serves it up on a platter for Loe. Comes back down, dribble step back and nails another three. Corey is sizzling early.
6 mins - Webster steal and fast break, Ngatai can't convert. Webster pull-up three, nothing but net. Good signs early from Corey.
7 mins - Abercrombie picks up his second foul early and heads to the bench.
8 mins - Abercrombie misses a bunny to continue his rough start to the tournament. Vucevic gets his first points. Corey Webster nails the three.
9 mins - Ivanovic lay-up ties it up. Loe steps up with the straight-away three.
10 mins - Webster to Webster alley-oop off the backdoor cut to start the scoring.
7:57pm - Haka underway, tip-off just moments away now.
Kia ora and welcome to live coverage from China as the Tall Blacks chase their first win of the World Cup against Orlando Magic star Nikola Vucevic's Montenegro.
Tip-off is scheduled for 8pm NZT.
Betting odds:
New Zealand - $2.70 Montenegro - $1.40
Pre-match banter
Tall Blacks fall to opening loss
A third-quarter offensive slump has cost the Tall Blacks in their opening match of the Basketball World Cup in China, falling to Brazil.
Both sides took a couple of minutes to find their rhythm, but once that happened they had the crowd on their feet throughout the game.
Webster was the go-to guy for the Tall Blacks throughout the first quarter, but he struggled with his field percentage, so Ethan Rusbatch and Shea Ili felt the brunt of the offensive load.
That changed in the second quarter, as Webster heated up, dropping five three-pointers before half-time to score a game-high 17 points at the half.
The Brazilians shared the scoring around, with Rafa Luz hitting a three-pointer at the end of the first half to tie the game at 50-50 heading into the break.
And that was as good as it got for the Tall Blacks through a horror third quarter, when former NBA champion Leandro Barbosa and veteran Alex Garcia proved the difference. Barbosa finishing with a game-high 22 points and Garcia 14.
The shots weren't dropping for the Kiwis like they were in the first half. Corey Webster failed to add to his total until late in the final stanza and captain Tom Abercrombie had a 100th game to forget, only managing five points in his 23 minutes.
Guard Shea Ili was a bright spark off the bench for New Zealand, scoring 16 points and six assists.
Centre Rob Loe grabbed his first double-double of the tournament, recording 11 points and 10 rebounds.
The result leaves the Tall Blacks in a difficult spot, meaning they will need to upset the world No.8 side Greece if they are to make the knockout round.
Newshub.
