STORMING into the top four, Otago Nuggets flexed their muscles over Manawatu Jets on their way to a huge 27-point win in the New Zealand National Basketball League (NZNBL) last night. The match to close out Round 12 saw the premiership hopefuls taking on the bottom two Jets at the Edgar Centre, with the home side doing as they pleased across the first half, and then winning all four quarters on their way to a 103-76 barnstorming victory.

OTAGO NUGGETS 25 | 35 | 19 | 24 (103)
MANAWATU JETS 18 | 22 | 13 | 23 (76)

Otago Nuggets knew what was on the line and ensured they came and conquered in front of home fans against a bottom two Manawatu Jets side. For most of the first term it was an even back-and-forth, with the Jets actually holding the lead for long periods of time. After being two points up with 3:13 on the clock following Robert Crawford free throws, the Jets watched as the Nuggets piled on the last nine points of the term, with Keith Williams a key scorer.

It only got worse for the Jets in the second term, as the Nuggets put the foot down and looked as a dominant as ever on the scoring front, piling on 35 points to 22 in a high-scoring term for the spectators. After the Jets closed the gap to four points in the opening minute, the Nuggets went on a 13-0 run over the next three minutes, with Williams, Billy Boyd III and Todd Withers having a big term and cancelling out the great work done by Jets shooter Zane Najdawi.

Manawatu Jets tried to work back into the game with some momentum, but the dominance of the Nuggets continued into the second half, extending the lead out to 26 points by the final break. The match was done and dusted at that point, but whatever the Jets threw at the Nuggets, Otago had the answers, and eventually won the final term as well to put an exclamation mark on the performance, scoring 24-23 and winning 103-76 after 40 minutes of action.

Otago Nuggets dominated in all the statistical areas, shooting at 45 per cent efficiency from the field compared to the Jets’ 37 per cent, including 45 and 44 per cent from inside and outside the arc, whilst the visitors recorded 42 and 29 per cent respectively. The key differences in the stats were in the assists (20-12), steals (13-5) and points in the paint (44-36), while the Nuggets only committed nine turnovers for the match compared to the Jets’ 21, and punished Manawatu with 24 points to two from turnovers in the big win.

Withers finished with a double-double of 25 points – firing off seven of 13 from long-range – and 10 rebounds, also collecting four assists and three blocks. Williams (24 points, five rebounds, three steals and two assists) was also dominant, while Boyd had 18 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals. Najdawi was the clear best for the Jets, sinking 10 of 14 from the field, and managing a double-double of 22 points and 17 rebounds. Crawford was the other key player with 22 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two blocks, but the depth just was not there for the visitors.

Otago Nuggets next face Taranaki Airs on July 24, with the Manawatu Jets playing the afternoon before up against Wellington Saints in Round 13 action.