The South Dragons parted with coach Shane Heal on Friday but even that wasn't enough to prevent a 14th straight NBL loss on Saturday night.

The New Zealand Breakers prevailed 104-93 at Vodafone Arena to almost assure the Dragons of the wooden spoon.

Former NBA player Kirk Penney led the Breakers with 28 points, while import Derrick Alston added 17.

Bakari Hendrix paced the Dragons with 25 points and 12 rebounds, and Cortez Groves added 23 before fouling out late in the final quarter.

Breakers coach Andrej Lemanis credited his team's improved defensive intensity in the second half as being the key to the win.

"It was good to get the win," Lemanis said.

"I'm happy that we got that win. I thought we didn't have consistency in the first half at the defensive end, but in the third quarter we got into it a bit. When we defend we're a good team."

Interim Dragons coach Guy Molloy said he was still excited by the opportunity to shape the club over the remaining month of the season.

"I'm excited to work the club through this period and instil some energy," he said.

"I love the guys, it's a good club and it's going to be a good club, and I want to do my part to help us through."

Molloy saw positives in the Dragons' performance despite the loss.

"It's about finding energy and passion and I think we had that tonight," Molloy said.

"We had endeavour, but we don't have a belief when in gets to the fourth quarter to win the games. We saw that tonight."

The Dragons started brightly, leading by as many as 10 points in the first half before the Breakers seized control.

With Penney leading the way, New Zealand outscored the Dragons 59-39 over the second and third quarters to set up an 11-point lead at the last change.

While the Dragons cut the deficit to four in the final quarter, the Breakers were able to steady and extend the lead to take the win.

New Zealand were able to punish Dragons turnovers, scoring 27 points from the home team's miscues and converting at 53 per cent from the floor while holding the Dragons to 45 per cent conversion.

The Dragons last victory was over Singapore on 25 November, and their streak has now stretched 69 days.

New Zealand improved to 15-12 on the season while the Dragons drop to 4-23.

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