Lithuanian star breaks NBL record as Brisbane beat NZ

A record-breaking NBL debut from Lithuanian sensation Arnas Velicka has steered the Brisbane Bullets to a thrilling 88-85 win over the New Zealand Breakers.

Velicka posted 23 points and 14 assists in Tuesday night's open-air clash at Brisbane's Pat Rafter Arena, to launch the Will Weaver era in style.

The previous most assists by a debutant was 13 by Ken McFadden in 1992 for the now-defunct Hobart Devils.

Hulking Tyrell Harrison (22 points, seven rebounds) was the chief beneficiary of Velicka's playmaking wizardry as the hosts overturned an 11-point deficit.

After Max Mackinnon - son of Bullets legend and 2007 league MVP Sam Mackinnon - coolly netted a pair of free throws with 16.1 seconds remaining for a three-point lead, NZ couldn't capitalise with two bites at the cherry.

Breakers captain Parker Jackson-Cartwright's three-point attempt with 12 seconds left was blocked by Mitch Norton, and he missed another long-range shot to level the scores at the bell, after Velicka missed a pair of foul shots.

Jackson-Cartwright paired 26 points with seven assists, while teammate Dejan Vasiljevic scored 17.

Brisbane jumped ahead 5-0 before struggling to contain the Breakers, who took the lead then extended it to 26-19 at quarter-time.

Vasiljevic continued his hot start to the season with his new team, burying a three-point bomb to extend NZ's advantage to 33-22.

The Bullets closed the gap to 44-37 at halftime but still looked out of sync at both ends.

Vasiljevic nailed his fourth three-pointer without a miss, before Jackson-Cartwright also hit his fourth trey to push the Breakers' buffer back out to 11.

Arnas Velicka got Damon needing Google Translate 🤣Watch the final quarter live on ESPN 📺 pic.twitter.com/C2Tb0pe9vO— NBL (@NBL) September 22, 2026

Then Velicka took over, notching a pair of threes, a crafty Euro-honed spin after posting up the smaller Jackson-Cartwright, and a pair of slick assists.

Mitch Norton put Brisbane up 65-63 at three-quarter-time when he hit a triple after an offensive rebound.