Basketball New Zealand

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Giants swingman Chris Daniel (Photosport)

CPS Nelson Giants coach Chris Tupu likes how his team has consistently built big leads this season.

But the way the Giants have given those leads back, not so much.

The Giants let their fourth consecutive double-digit fourth quarter lead at home up and vanish on Saturday night, before recovering in time to hold-off the Marley Canterbury Rams 84-83 at the Trafalgar Centre as the Dominion Finance NBL reached the unofficial mid-season point after round eight.

“It’s encouraging that we’ve worked our way into a position to win the game but then we let off the pedal or whatever you want to call it, for some reason,” said Tupu, who has the Giants at 6-3 and third behind the Waikato Pistons and Century City Wellington Saints.

“I have been disappointed in a few things, some missed defensive assignments and some poor offensive execution.”

The Giants led by 12 points with 7:59 to play against the Youthtown Auckland Stars in round five, eventually winning 93-91 in overtime. They had a 10-point lead on the Appliance Shed Harbour Heat in round six with 3:02 remaining, going scoreless for the last three minutes and losing 68-67. And in round seven, they saw a 21-point lead with 5:56 left reduced to two points before handing the Pistons their first loss, 88-81. The Giants also gave up a second half lead in a loss to the Saints in round three.

“We’ve only been out-played in one game, the first loss to Waikato up there, and the other games that we have lost, it’s been our own undoing.

“I’m concerned, yes, but on the positive side, to get to the finals in this League, we’re going to have to improve. Down the stretch, we’re just not going to keep getting chances like this.

“I’ve got every faith. We’re not playing well and we’re still picking up wins. We still haven’t put a solid full game together. We’ve put in patches and quarters but we’ve also put in quarters of bad play.”

Tall Black hopefuls Michael Fitchett and Chris Daniel have stepped up their play in recent rounds. Fitchett scored a game-high 24 points in his head-to-head with Rams point guard Jeremy Kench on Saturday night, and Daniel had 17 points and five rebounds.

In a light round in the NBL, with only four games scheduled, the Pistons ended their two-game losing streak with a 99-93 win over the Cartridge World Otago Nuggets in the Sky TV game on Thursday night.

Nuggets American imports Lemar Gayle and Antoine Tisby combined for 64 points, Gayle finishing with a round-high 40 points, but it was a deadly second half shooting performance from Pistons forward Ben Hill that earned Waikato the win in Te Awamutu, moving them level with the idle Saints atop the standings.

Ironman forward Link Abrams scored 31 points and added nine rebounds in his 100th NBL game to will Devon Dynamos Taranaki to an 83-78 win over the Nuggets in New Plymouth on Friday night.

Abrams, who has not missed a game for Taranaki since making his NBL debut on April 23, 2003 and joined the 100 Game Club in less than six seasons, shot 14-of-17 from the field to help fill the void of the absent centre Tony Rampton.

A fourth-quarter 26-11 blow-out propelled the Easy LPG Bay Hawks to a 91-73 home win over the Heat.

Point guard Aidan Daly lead a balanced Hawks offence with 18 points, while Tall Black Paora Winitana had 17 points and seven assists and American centre Kareem Johnson 17 points and nine rebounds.

The Hawks, despite having the fourth-best win percentage, are on the outside looking in at the top-six, largely due to an early-season schedule that sees them with two or three games in hand on the teams above them.

The idle Property Brokers Manawatu Jets, Rams and Nuggets fill out positions eight through 10, with two wins each, and need to start winning immediately to avoid being left out of the playoff race in the season’s second half.

Dominion Finance NBL Round Eight

Thursday, April 17
At Te Awamutu Events Centre, Te Awamutu
Waikato Pistons 99 (Brian Wethers 29, Ben Hill 27, Jason Crowe 20) Cartridge World Otago Nuggets 93 (Lemar Gayle 40, Antoine Tisby 24, Nat Connell 14). HT: 56-49

Friday, April 18
At TSB Stadium, New Plymouth
Devon Dynamos Taranaki 83 (Link Abrams 31, Keith Salscheider 17, Ben Jeffrey 13, Damon Rampton 12) Cartridge World Otago Nuggets 78 (Lemar Gayle 21, Antoine Tisby 19, Nat Connell 12). HT: 38-35

At Pettigrew.Green Arena, Taradale
Easy LPG Bay Hawks 91 (Aidan Daly 18, Kareem Johnson 17, Paora Winitana 17, Kevin Smith 14, Paul Henare 11) Appliance Shed Harbour Heat 73 (Oscar Forman 20, Jarrod Kenny 13, Daryl Cartwright 12, Tim Behrendorff 11). HT: 47-43

Saturday, April 19
At Trafalgar Centre, Nelson
CPS Nelson Giants 84 (Michael Fitchett 24, Chris Daniel 17, Phill Jones 15, Jamil Terrell 13, Michael Harrison 10) Marley Canterbury Rams 83 (Dave Langrell 21, Gerard Bowden 17, Jeremy Kench 12, Joey Harrell 12). HT: 48-42

Round Eight games, scores and standings