At Eventfinda Stadium, Auckland:
Auckland Tuatara 92 (Rob Loe 24, Taki Fahrensohn 24, Chris Johnson 17, Siler Schneider 17) Wellington Saints 87 (Xavier Cooks 26, Reggie Upshaw Jr 20, Mike Smith 14, Tom Vodanovich 12) 1Q: 25-17, HT: 50-38, 3Q: 70-58.
Otago Nuggets 91 (Tray Boyd 30, Keith Williams 24, Nikau McCullough 19, Sam Timmins 12) Hawke’s Bay Hawks 80 (Ethan Rusbatch 29, Hyrum Harris 16, Jarrod Kenny 10) 1Q: 22-15, HT: 42-35, 3Q: 58-51.
A new champion will be crowned in the National Basketball League after the Auckland Tuatara eliminated the Wellington Saints.
In a pulsating finish, the Tuatara held off the defending champion Saints 97-82 in their elimination play-in game in Auckland on Wednesday.
The Tuatara won’t have long to reflect on their upset win, facing the top seeded Taranaki Airs in the first semifinal on Thursday.
Rob Loe (24 points and 10 rebounds) and Taki Fahrensohn (24 points, seven rebounds, three assists) were influential in the win for the Aucklanders.
READ MORE:
* Mitchell Langton named basketball GM of the year
* Taranaki Airs are tops for now but the race to NBL glory is wide open
* Wellington Saints’ star Xavier Cooks earns NBL MVP honours
Veteran big man Chris Johnson, who battled foul trouble, was outstanding too with 17 points, 13 rebounds, and three steals, while American guard Siler Schneider flirted with a triple-double, registering 17 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists.
Trailing by as many as 18 points, the Saints refused to go away and hit back with a dominant start to the final quarter.
Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images
Saints’ standout Xavier Cooks had a strong double-double, but couldn’t lead his side to a win over the Tuatara.
It was anyone’s game in the closing minutes, but Fahrensohn and Johnson converted crucial baskets to turn the result the Tuatara’s way.
The sides traded baskets back and forth with Jordan Ngatai knocking down a late triple to trim the Tuatara lead to one at 85-84. Two missed free throws from Xavier Cooks proved costly with two minutes left.
Wellington entered the finals in red-hot touch having rattled off six straight wins and seven from their last eight.
It was a far cry from how they started the season, getting off to an uncharacteristic 3-7 start, which saw the club part ways with former coach Guy Molloy.
Chris Symes/Photosport
Xavier Cooks contributed 26 points and 16 points in the Saints’ finals loss to the Tuatara (file pic).
Brilliant Australian forward Cooks, who was named NBL MVP on Tuesday, showed his quality for the Saints in the losing cause.
Cooks was difficult to guard for most of the game, pouring in 26 points to go with 16 rebounds.
To knock over the Saints, the Tuatara needed to start well and they did just that.
The Tuatara took a 12 point buffer into halftime, leading 50-38, shooting 51% from the floor in the first half (22/43) and limiting the Saints to 42% (15/35). Wellington were cold beyond the arc, draining just two of 11 from three point range in the first half.
Chris Symes/Photosport
Centre Chris Johnson, pictured in a prior game, made a big impact for the Tuatara at both ends.
Loe and Fahrensohn were effective in the first half, both scoring 15 points with Schneider doing it all with nine points, six rebounds, and six assists.
The Tuatara had to overcome three first half fouls to Johnson, who sat out the latter part of the second quarter.
A 10-4 Tuatara run to start the second half saw the Saints facing an 18-point deficit (60-42) early in the third term.
They rallied back from that, but couldn’t grind out the win in the pivotal moments of the fourth quarter.
Joe Allison/Getty Images
American guard Keith Williams scored 24 points in the Otago Nuggets’ finals win over the Hawks.
Meanwhile, in the first play-in game, Otago Nuggets’ American point guard Tray Boyd starred with a game-high 30 points, five rebounds, and five assists as they eliminated the Hawke’s Bay Hawks 91-80.
Otago’s win sets up a semifinal showdown against the Nelson Giants on Friday.
The first play-in clash featured the third seeded Nuggets against the sixth ranked Hawks with both sides finishing round play with a 10-8 record.
Boyd was ably assisted by fellow American guard Keith Williams, who contributed 24 points, six rebounds, and three assists. Nikau McCullough added 19 points and six rebounds, while big man Sam Timmins had 12 points and nine boards.
Turnovers crippled the Hawks, who surrendered the ball 21 times, which the Nuggets scored 19 points from – ending the Hawks season.
Hawke’s Bay weren’t helped by foul trouble with key performer Hyrum Harris collecting his fourth personal midway through the third quarter, which proved an important moment.
Ethan Rusbatch led the way on offence for the Hawks top-scoring with 29 points.
Otago did a stellar job defensively, limiting the Hawks to 80 points on 39% shooting from the field – down on their season average of 86 points.
AT A GLANCE:
NBL semifinal schedule:
Thursday 7.30pm: Taranaki Airs v Auckland Tuatara
Friday 7.30pm: Nelson Giants v Otago Nuggets
Saturday 7.30pm: Grand final
Discussion about this post