Basketball New Zealand

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Heat players Dan Ryan, BJ Anthony and Brandon Brighouse celebrate on the bench (Photosport)

The Appliance Shed Harbour Heat led for only four seconds in Nelson but it was the four seconds that counted most.

Centre Tim Behrendorff scored the go-ahead basket with four ticks remaining, giving the Heat their first lead of the game as they held on for a 68-67 against the CPS Nelson Giants in round six of the Dominion Finance NBL.

The Cartridge World Otago Nuggets got off the schneid with their first win, a 76-69 result over the Manawatu Jets in their at-home-on-the-road in Timaru, while the Waikato Pistons remained undefeated at 6-0 with an 88-67 home win over the Youthtown Auckland Stars in other NBL games on Saturday night.

In Nelson, the Heat benefited from the second straight fourth quarter collapse by the Giants on their home Trafalgar Centre floor, coming from double-digits down with just over three minutes to play.

Tall Black Phill Jones hit a three with 3:02 to go, giving the Giants a 67-57 lead, but the home side never scored again, missing three shots and turning the ball over twice. The Giants gave up a 12-point lead with eight minutes remaining in round five, before eventually beating the Stars in overtime.

Behrendorff, who scored a game-high 21 points on 10-of-16 shooting and 12 rebounds, Daryl Cartwright, Hayden Allen, Jarrod Kenny and Mika Vukona all scored in the 11-0 run to end the game.

Oscar Forman had 14 points and Allen 10 for the Heat, while Kenny had nine points and seven assists and Mika Vukona pulled down nine rebounds against his former club.

Swingman Chris Daniel led the Giants with 18 points, including five threes, while Jones filled his stat-line with 16 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, Michael Harrison had 16 points and Jamil Terrell 11 rebounds.

In Timaru, a 25-14 final period propelled the Nuggets to their first win, ending a six-game losing streak to start the season, overcoming a four-point deficit to win going away at the SBS Events Centre.

American import Lemar Gayle scored a game-high 25 points and 15 rebounds, matching his season average, while soon-to-depart compatriot Jay Anderson had 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Nuggets.

With both teams shooting below 40 percent from the field, the key moment came midway through the fourth quarter when back-up guard Jamie Blake hit back-to-back threes to give Otago the lead, which they never handed back. Brent Charleton and Nat Connell also scored in double-figures.

Keith Davis and Miles Pearce both had double-doubles for Manawatu, Davis with 19 and 13 and Pearce with 13 and 11. American point guard Kantrail Horton had 14 points and four assists and Stacey Lambert 10 points.

Waikato took their first double-digit lead at the 2:10 mark of the first quarter and only let their advantage dip into single figures twice as they increased their winning streak to six games at Hamilton City Stadium.

Brian Wethers and Jason Crowe again led the Pistons with 24 and 22 points respectively, with Wethers shooting 10-of-18 and adding 12 rebounds and four assists. Crowe finished with five rebounds and seven assists while Ben Hill had 18 points and nine boards and Pero Cameron eight rebounds and three assists.

For Auckland, who were playing without Adrian Majstrovich, forward Casey Frank had 20 points, taking him past 2000 points in the NBL, and 10 rebounds, while Tyrone Davey and Josh Clark had 13 and 11 points, both hitting three triples.

After Auckland closed within eight at 6:38 of the third quarter, Waikato increased the margin to 14 points by the end of the period, then put the game away with a 10-2 run to start the fourth, winning by 20-plus for the third time in 2008.

Dominion Finance NBL Round Six

At Trafalgar Centre, Nelson
Appliance Shed Harbour Heat 68 (Tim Behrendorff 21, Oscar Forman 14, Hayden Allen 10) CPS Nelson Giants 67 (Chris Daniel 18, Phill Jones 16, Michael Harrison 16). HT: 42-37
Giants vs Heat Box Score (21KB html)

At SBS Events Centre, Timaru
Cartridge World Otago Nuggets 76 (Lemar Gayle 25, Jay Anderson 20, Brent Charleton 12, Nat Connell 11) Manawatu Jets 69 (Keith Davis 19, Kantrail Horton 14, Miles Pearce 13, Stacey Lambert 10). HT: 40-33
Nuggets vs Jets Box Score (21KB html)

At Hamilton City Stadium, Hamilton
Waikato Pistons 88 (Brian Wethers 24, Jason Crowe 22, Ben Hill 18, Ray Cameron 10) Youthtown Auckland Stars 67 (Casey Frank 20, Tyrone Davey 13, Josh Clark 11, Larry Bratcher 10). HT: 51-40
Pistons vs Stars Box Score (21KB html)