Basketball New Zealand

The Nelson Giants celebrate after their quarterfinal win over the Bay Hawks (Photosport)

And the CPS Nelson Giants NBL title defence continues.

Down eight points at halftime, the defending champion Giants stunned the Easy LPG Bay Hawks 78-75 in the first quarterfinal of the Dominion Finance NBL Playoffs at the Pettigrew.Green Arena in Taradale on Tuesday night.

Retired Tall Black Phill Jones made two free-throws with 2.8 seconds remaining to finish with a game-high 27 points and send the Giants through to a semifinal showdown with the regular season champion Century City Wellington Saints on Thursday night in the Capital.

Nelson, down 40-32 at the major break after the Hawks held them to 14 points in the second period, never trailed in the fourth quarter and were able to hold off the Bay and their racous 2000-strong fan-base.

Down 76-75, Hawks American centre Kareem Johnson missed a pair of freebies with 23.5 second to play after Jones fouled him on a close-range attempt.

The Hawks grabbed the offensive rebound and after working the clock, Tall Black Paora Winitana, the Hawks leading scorer who was held to just four points missed an open three from the corner with 10.2 remaining and Jones corralled the loose ball.

The winning surge for the Giants came at the end of the third period, a 9-2 run in the final 3:40 getting them ahead. The Bay tied the game once in the fourth, at 63-63, on a Kevin Smith three at the 6:19 mark.

Giants guard Michael Harrison, who finished with 22 points and eight rebounds, point guard Michael Fitchett, who recorded 14 points, hit clutch baskets down the stretch to hold off the Hawks.

Nelson were out-rebounded 47-33, much of that in the first half, but had nine blocks, including four from Harrison, and turned the ball over just 10 times to the Hawks 18.

“Everyone chipped in and that’s the key for this team,” winning Giants coach Chris Tupu said.

“We don’t have a deep roster and we need everyone to step up.”

Johnson did his best to put the Bay through to the semifinals for the fifth straight year, scoring 11 of his 23 points in the final period, adding nine rebounds and rejecting Fitchett on a drive with under two minutes remaining.

Point guard Aidan Daly had 15 points for the Hawks, while import forward Smith had 13 points, including three treys with eight of those in the last 10 minutes, and guard Paul Henare had 11 points and six assists.

In a defensive struggle, neither side shot the lights out – Nelson shooting 43.5 percent from the field and 27.8 percent on threes, while the Hawks went 42.9 percent from the floor and 33.3 percent from distance.

The teams traded baskets in the first period, neither leading by more than four points, with Jones going off for 13 points and making five of his seven shots.The Hawks dominated the boards, with 10 offensive rebounds giving them second and third opportunities, as Nelson had five first quarter blocks.

Hawke’s Bay scored the first eight points of the second period to take a 28-18 lead at the 7:52 mark but the Giants immediately answered with six straight points.

The Hawks defence in the second held Nelson to mostly jump shots, which stopped dropping for a time as they went 1-of-10 on three-point attempts in the first half, while the home side out-rebounded the Giants 31-17, including 15-8 on the offensive glass.

Dominion Finance NBL Playoffs

Quarterfinal (4th vs 5th)

At Pettigrew.Green Arena, Taradale
CPS Nelson Giants 78 (Phill Jones 27, Michael Harrison 22, Michael Fitchett 14) Easy LPG Bay Hawks 75 (Kareem Johnson 23, Aidan Daly 15, Kevin Smith 13, Paul Henare 11)
1Q: 18-20
HT: 32-40 (14-20)
3Q: 57-54 (25-14)
FT: 78-75 (21-21)
Hawks vs Giants Box Score (20KB html)