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SORELY depleted, Brisbane produced a more-than-encouraging effort but could not withstand the finish of temporary replacement Tasmania import TJ Starks and some bewildering officiating, after Sydney earlier comfortably despatched a broken Breakers NBL outfit by 22 points.

Brisbane went into its first home match of the season with Mitch Norton and Sam McDaniel already ruled out but Javon Freeman-Liberty, then Casey Prather also sidelined. That's four of the Bullets' first six.

Tohi Smith-Milner starting, alongside Taine Murray and Alex Ducas, suggested a long night pending for hardcore Brisbane fans. Worse still, star centre Tyrell Harrison, once the understudy of Jackies centre Will Magnay, slipped back into that familiar role and was nowhere near his best.

Of course the boys from across Bass Strait were also hampered, down star import David Johnson and Majok Deng, not to mention Sean MacDonald (season).

But just as Brisbane again activated replacement import Lamar Patterson, Tasmania brought in Starks, who, like Cairns' Andrew Andrews when rushed in virtually straight off the plane, looked slightly off the pace early. 

Meanwhile Ducas, after a couple of unseemly long distance airballs, found his range and Murray, previously pointless this season, delivered 17 at 70 per cent, including 3-of-5 triples.

Tristan Devers had four assists with seven points and Callum Dalton provided some key minutes.

Nonetheless, Tasmania appeared to hold the advantage, even if by never more than six points. Trailing 54-58 and with mostly second-stringers on the hardwood, the Bullets started firing.

Dalton made the first bucket, Jack Purchase sticking a three from the left corner for the lead before Murray extended it. A second triple from Purchase in the same corner, followed by Devers' driver meant Brisbane was ahead 66-58, a stunning 12-0 outburst which had fans searching for the identities of the culprits.

The momentum now swung completely, it was time for a stark change in fortunes, TJ ending the drought with a drive to open the last quarter scoring.

Murray temporarily restored order with a 3-point basket but Starks was off and running, compiling 13 of his 18 points in the final period. It was only when he ran out of steam and missed two shots that Scott Roth turned the job back to Tyger Campbell, who guided Tassie home.

Against his former club, Josh Bannan was huge for Tasmania, elevating his game for 23 points and 15-rebounds, his key assist for a wide-open Magnay dunk giving the JackJumpers the 83-82 lead.

In the final seconds, Harrison's bucket was disallowed on a charge drawn by Magnay, an area the officials were woefully inconsistent all evening.

Bryce Hamilton was fouled, swished the first free throw, then likely deliberately missed the second with 0.5 on the clock and Tasmania home, big moments by Nick Marshall and Ben Ayre also significant.

In Sydney, Kendric Davis enjoyed a 28-point return at a tidier 65 per cent and Tim Soares paired 16 points at 70 per cent with 8 rebounds as the Kings sent a listless New Zealand packing by 22 points.

Considering Matthew Dellavedova was 0-of-6 - he still dished seven assists but has left his 3-point shot somewhere in Melbourne - Xavier Cooks had 8 points on six shots, Jaylin Galloway saw 17 minutes of daylight, Sydney's comfortable 22-point win was as much a reflection of its opponent's ineptitude as its own good play.

These broken Breakers have no idea how they want to play yet for once, befuddled coach Peteri Koponen started with his best quintet, namely Parker Jackson-Cartwright, Izaiah Brockington, Karim Lopez, Rob Baker and Sam Mennenga.

At 12-12, that group was cooking, so Koponen then subbed in his three beloved Kiwi returnees, Izayah Le'Afa, Rob Loe and Reuben Te Rangi. By the first break, NZ trailed 15-22.

Le'Afa spent last season with the Kings and couldn't buy a basket. Guess what? He was 0-of-6.

Loe was once a valuable big man with 3-point range versatility. He dialled 0-of-2 from long distance and also was, quite literally, pointless. Te Rangi had 10 but contributed nothing of note and nothing new or of substance.

Jackson-Cartwright seems to have lost all interest in running a team game, is going one-on-five anytime he feels like it, and apart from Mennenga and a few of the deepest benchmen, care factor is low.

With such confused coaching, that should be no surprise, Koponen surely now skating on thin ice - can you imagine a Mody Maor Breakers team playing like this?

The bad news is Sydney only looked adequate in dispensing with this rabble and still needs a lot of improvement to be a serious contender.

But its bench did come through, with notable contributions from Kouat Noi, Makuach Maluach, Bul Kuol and 350-gamer Shaun Bruce.

Round 3

Adelaide 36ers 110 (Cotton 28, Cameron 20, Humphries, Vasiljevic 19; Cheatham 10 rebs; Cotton 7 assts) d Cairns Taipans 79 (Schofield 19, Lee 18, Andrews 10; McVeigh 8 rebs, Andrews 7 assts) at the Taipanadrome, Cairns Convention Centre. Crowd: 4,213

Perth Wildcats 92 (Lual-Acuil 22, Doolittle 17, Windler 16, Jones 12, Pepper 11; Windler 14 rebs; Jones, Doolittle 4 assts) d Illawarra Hawks 84 (McGee 26, Harvey 19, Swaka Lo Buluk 14, McLaughlin 13; McGee 14 rebs; Harvey 5 assts) at the Jungle, RAC Arena. Crowd: N/a

Sydney Kings 97 (Davis 28, Soares 16, Galloway 11, Noi 10; Soares 8 rebs; Dellavedova 7 assts) d New Zealand Breakers 75 (Jackson-Cartwright 16, Baker 15, Mennenga 14, Lopez, Te Rangi 10; Mennenga 12 rebs; Jackson-Cartwright 5 assts) at the Kingdome, Qudos Bank Arena. Crowd: 10,798

Tasmania Jack Jumpers 84 (Bannan 23, Starks 18, Magnay 13, Hamilton 10; Magnay 15 rebs; Ayre, Campbell 3 assts) d Brisbane Bullets 82 (Adams 19, Murray 17, Ducas 12; Smith-Milner 10 rebs; Adams 7 assts) at the Bullethole, Brisbane Entertainment Centre. Crowd: 6,946

NBA-NBL

New Orleans Pelicans 107 (Murphy 18, Williamson 15, Hawkins, Alvarado, Poole 11, McGowens 10; Missi 8 rebs; Williamson 5 assts) d Melbourne United 97 (Doyle 25, Delany 13, Wilson, Edwards 12, Daniels 11; Delany 9 rebs; Walker 5 assts) at Rod Laver Arena. Crowd: 14,880