The side was beaten 99-89 by Japan in Chiba in the first game of its World Cup preparation.
Japan led 18-2 early on as the Tall Blacks struggled to fire and NBA rookie Rui Hachimura dominated for the hosts.
The Tall Blacks reduced the deficit and trailed by just six at halftime.
Despite that, they were unable to reel in Japan completely, the home side closing out a 10-point win.
Tall Blacks coach Paul Henare was pleased with the effort, if not the execution at times.
"It wasn’t jitters, but at an international level this Japanese group is playing well, they are physical and athletic and you just can replicate that first hit of intensity, and for our first game you could see it, it was like a punch in the face for our guys.
"It is good for us to get that out of the way for the boys to get that work on the lungs and game fitness. There is a lot to improve on, but we had chances to close that gap especially in the second half."
Henare spoke about the glaring stat that might well have been the difference between the two teams, with the Tall Blacks shooting just six of 35 from deep.
“For a long time, we have been reliant on putting the ball in the hole from the three-point line and from our 35 that we took, I thought a high percentage were good looks for us.
"You need to knock those down to keep the scoreboard pressure on, to go 6 of 35 is well under par for where we are at. And we had some communication breakdowns at the defensive end that allowed them to keep the scoreboard ticking over at a high rate, so we have to improve at both ends."
Guard Tai Webster led the Tall Blacks in scoring with 18 points and chipped in with seven assists, while Isaac Fotu had 16 points and 10 rebounds.
The sides meet again tomorrow night.
