Basketball New Zealand

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Bay Hawks guard Paul Henare (Photosport)

With five straight wins, Easy LPG Bay Hawks are the new hottest team in the Dominion Finance NBL, but the defending champions could just as easily be out of the playoff hunt.

ìI think weíre starting to play really well,î insists NZ Tall Black point guard Paul Henare, still husky from celebrating the Hawksí 88-86 home victory over the previously rampant U Park It Waikato Pistons on Friday night.

ìIn the last few games, weíve shown a lot of character. That win over Waikato was really satisfying because of how hot they were Ö and, you know, we had been talking to them a bit beforehand.î

Thatís the glass-half-full take on the Hawksí form. The flipside would show how desperately close they have come to disaster.

The titleholders have not led into the final quarter of any of their last four games, not even against bottom-of-the-table Cartridge World Otago Nuggets. Two of those encounters – against Century City Wellington Saints and Scenic Circle Canterbury Rams – went into extra periods only after Henare worked his own personal magic at the end of regulation time.

Against Canterbury (3-10), the Hawks were 19 points adrift with little more than three minutes left before Henare completed the unlikely comeback with a deep trey as the clock wound down.

And the Pistons could have extended their streak to eight wins if Pero Cameronís buzzer-beating trey had found its mark.

ìWeíve won some tight games,î concedes Henare. ìWe were probably a bit lucky against Canterbury, but we did put ourselves in the position to win it.

ìYou never want to be in those situations Ö we would prefer them to be 20-point blowouts. But winning those games has helped build our character and the confidence that comes with that.î

To be fair, the Hawks and some of their veteran stars, including Henare, seemed to have sleep-walked during the early weeks of their title defence, compiling a 5-4 record through the first half of their schedule.

With fate hanging in the balance, three of those headliners, in particular, have stepped forward to rekindle the flame.
As well as hitting the Hawksí two biggest shots of the season – he banked a running left-handed lay-up over American Bakari Hendrix to stave off defeat against the Saints – Henare has compiled two double-figure assist games and is now well on the way to his fourth league assist title.

Reigning MVP Paora Winitana has again been pretty darn good all season, but already shooting 52.2% from the arc, he has simply gotten better (54.5%) over the last four outings. Not bad for a guy dismissed as having no outside game through most of his 10-year NBL career.

And American centre Kareem Johnson, almost a role player on two previous championship teams (Auckland 2005, Hawks 2006), has lifted his production – 20.5 points, 72% FG & 10.8 rebounds – when most needed.

ìYou might talk about me making big plays, but Paora was massive against Waikato,î claims Henare. ìThey hit a couple of back-to-back threes in the last couple of minutes, at the end of the shot clock and falling away, that should have been backbreakers.

ìA lot of teams Iíve played in or against or been around or seen Ö those shots would have sunk them. But we stayed really composed – we didnít even call a timeout – and Paora came down to hit two massive threes.

ìHe is shooting the ball at such a great clip, and that is part of the belief and confidence we have in ourselves right now.î

The Hawks still face a daunting path to the postseason, including two games against last yearís beaten finalists – Youthtown Auckland Stars – and another against the team they toppled in the semis – Blue Chip Nelson Giants.

But if they can feel this good about winning this ugly, heaven help the rest of the league if they actually find form.

Dominion Finance NBL (Round 12)
Wednesday, May 23
Christchurch
Easy LPG Bay Hawks 103 (Kareem Johnson 21, Paora Winitana 20, Everard Bartlett 15, Paul Henare 12) Scenic Circle Canterbury Rams 100 (Mychal Green 25, Michael Joiner 19, Jeremy Kench 14, Mike Townsend 14, Joel Hart 12)
Quarter 11-16
Halftime 40-35 (29-19)
Threequarter 52-70 (12-35)
Fulltime 91-91 (39-21)
Overtime 103-100 (12-9)

Thursday, May 24
Palmerston North
U Park It Waikato Pistons 92 (Kevin Smith 23, Jason Crowe 22, Ben Hill 17, Luke Martin 10) Inspire Net Manawatu Jets 82 (Reece Cassidy 20, Matt Te Huna 14, Aaron Nowell 14, Stacey Lambert 12, George Byrd 12, Brandon Payton 10)
Quarter 28-19
Halftime 60-42 (32-23)
Threequarter 78-63 (18-21)
Fulltime 92-82 (14-19)

Auckland
Youthtown Auckland Stars 98 (Lindsay Tait 24, Valance Te Ratana 22, Charlie Piho 16, Dillon Boucher 12) TET Taranaki Mountain Airs 88 (Garry Hill-Thomas 19, Link Abrams 18, Ben Jeffrey 17, Kaine Hokianga 16, Gabe Stephenson 16)
Quarter 21-19
Halftime 44-42 (23-23)
Threequarter 76-66 (32-24)
Fulltime 98-88 (22-22)

Friday, May 25
Napier
Easy LPG Bay Hawks 88 (Paora Winitana 24, Kareem Johnson 16, Andrew Rice 14, Paul Henare 10) U Park It Waikato Pistons 86 (Jason Crowe 23, Luke Martin 17, Kevin Smith 11, Pero Cameron 10)
Quarter 23-21
Halftime 43-45 (20-24)
Threequarter 64-64 (21-19)
Fulltime 88-86 (24-22)

Nelson
Blue Chip Nelson Giants 85 (Ed Book 20, Mika Vukona 18, Josh Pace 15, Mike Fitchett 15) Century City Wellington Saints 83 (Nick Horvath 24, Troy McLean 20, Bakari Hendrix 14)
Quarter 30-28
Halftime 54-43 (24-15)
Threequarter 66-69 (12-26)
Fulltime 85-83 (19-14)

Christchurch
Appliance Shed Harbour Heat 88 (Hayden Allen 29, Brent Charleton 25, Oscar Forman 13) Scenic Circle Canterbury Rams 81 (Mychal Green 26, Joel Hart 14, Michael Joiner 13, Jeremy Kench 10)
Quarter 26-19
Halftime 43-36 (17-17)
Threequarter 65-60 (22-24)
Fulltime 88-81 (23-21)

Saturday, May 26
Dunedin
Appliance Shed Harbour Heat 89 (Oscar Forman 19, Tim Behrendorff 16, Hayden Allen 13, Daryl Cartwright 13, Brent Charleton 11) Cartridge World Otago Nuggets 71 (Justin Bailey 35, Branduinn Fullove 16)
Quarter 22-22
Halftime 40-32 (18-10)
Threequarter 61-47 (21-15)
Fulltime 89-71 (28-24)