NZ Breakers have fallen to consecutive Aussie NBL defeats, unable to stop a recordbreaking scoring outburst and losing new centre Tacko Fall to injury in the process.

Trailling Perth Wildcats by as many as 23 points in the third quarter, the Auckland club brought the margin back to single figures, before succumbing 123-112, as American expat Bryce Cotton piled on a modern-day record of 59 points in an audacious offensive display.

While coach Petteri Koponen will undoubtedly lament his team's defensive performance, as they conceded 100 points for the second time within four days, he must admire their resilience on a night when they were simply outplayed by one of the greatest players to ever grace Australian courts.

Reeling from their biggest defeat of the season — a 38-point drubbing at Illawarra — the Breakers entered this contest still grappling with how to best utilise 2.29m (7tf 6in) force of nature Fall, after his recent addition to the roster.

Missing against the Hawks was Mexican NBA prospect Karim Lopez, nursing an ankle injury suffered during national team duty, but he quickly made his presence felt with an emphatic drive and dunk to open the Breakers scoring.

Perth had their own force of nature, with four-time MVP Cotton recently returning from injury, as his team struggled to keep their season alive without him. The sharpshooter was off to a perfect 6/6 shooting start, including three from the arc, as the home side grabbed the early advantage.

Fall entered the game, when Aussie centre Dane Pineau limped off with an ankle injury, and immediately made his presence felt at both ends. His lack of mobility left the floor wide open for Cotton to operate, but he proved a handful for his markers offensively, posting up relentlessly under the basket.

Fuelled by Cotton, the Wildcats piled on 42 points in the opening quarter — the most by any team this season — as the Breakers fell 18 points behind. Cotton had 20 points by himself.

The margin quickly became 20 points, but as the home side began to cool off, their guests began to chip away. Cotton was the exception, converting a four-point play in the closing seconds to amass 31 first-half points, with his team ahead 69-48.

Halftime brought the bad news that Pineau and Fall were both out of the contest with leg injuries, but the Breakers tried to attack Cotton’s defence in an effort to slow down his assault on the basket.

It didn’t work. Midway through the third period, Cotton had 40 points and the crowd began chanting MVP.

Before the game, Breakers star Parker Jackson-Cartwright was also touted as a leading contender for individual season honours and he did everything he could to keep this team competitive, but was simply not in the same league as his counterpart.

With development player Carlin Davison trailling him around the court, Cotton slotted his sixth three-pointer to reach a new career-high of 46 points with more than a quarter remaining, but despite his heroics, Jackson-Cartwright dragged the Breakers deficit back to single figures.

Jackson-Cartwright brought up his own season high with 26 points late in the third stanza and the Breakers were within eight points entering the final quarter.

Within seconds, Jackson-Cartwright reduced the difference to six, but Cotton immediately had his 50, matching the league record in the modern 40-minute era with another three. With five minutes remaining, a simple layup gave him the mark outright.

Parker-Cartwright brought up 30 and eventually matched his Aussie career high of 34, achieved during last season's playoffs, and added 10 assists, but the collective momentum had shifted back to Perth for good. Tall Black Sam Mennenga was left to man the centre position by himself and responded with 25 points.

The result leaves the Breakers at 7-5 for the season and slipping down the table, which they led earlier this month, before the international break. They host league leaders Melbourne United at Christchurch on Thursday, before returning to Auckland for the first time in a month to host Sydney Kings on Saturday.

Perth Wildcats 123 (Cotton 59, Almansa 17, Windler 15, Doolittle 13, Henshall 10) NZ Breakers 112 (Jackson-Cartwright 34, Sam Mennenga 25, Anticevich 10)