Pistons Power Into Finals
Tagged in: Competitions, NBL
The 2008 Dominion Finance NBL Finals will feature a 1st vs 2nd match-up after the Waikato Pistons win on Friday night.
American guard Brian Wethers scored a game-high 26 points and point guard Jason Crowe drained the biggest shot of the game with 34.7 seconds remaining as the Pistons out-lasted the Youthtown Auckland Stars to advance to the best-of-three NBL Finals series against the Century City Wellington Saints next week.
Wethers, who has been troubled by a back injury the last few weeks, shot 8-of-14 from the field, including three triples, and added eight rebounds and three steals, while Mike Homik produced his best offensive night of the season with 13 points and Pero Cameron had 11 points.
Crowe, who ran the Pistons offence patiently after getting into foul trouble in the second period, scored nine points, along with Ben Hill and Puke Lenden.
Crowe got his first points on a three over Dylan Perfect-Tait at the 4:47 mark of the third period, then hit another as the hometown Pistons took a 63-60 lead with 2:04 left as the Pistons put in another small run at the end of the third to hold their four-point lead.
Trailing by seven points, Stars import guard George Baker, who finished with 20 points, hit a three to close the gap, then provided the assist for an Adrian Majstrovich fast-break lay-in to get the beleaguered Stars to 82-80 with 1:31 remaining but went scoreless on their last four possessions.
Majstrovich posted a double-double with 26 points and 11 rebounds, while Casey Frank finished with 21 points and seven boards, Baker added six assists to his stat-line and Dillon Boucher pulled down 12 rebounds.
Crucial numbers for the Pistons in a game that featured 14 lead changes and 10 ties included holding the Stars number-one ranked bench to only five points and forcing Auckland into 17 turnovers.
In a first half where neither team leading by more than six points, it was all about Frank and Wethers.
Tall Black Frank went for 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting in the first half, getting his all-round game going with two treys and points around the basket, while Wethers, who was still suffering from a back injury, had 17 points and five boards.
Crowe picked up his third foul midway through the second quarter and sat out the last five minutes of the half, with an uncharacteristic zero points and just one rebound and one assist at the interval.
Waikato put together a 10-3 run to finish the second quarter to lead 44-40, with a Wethers three attempt at the buzzer being waved off by referee Tim Brown.
The Waikato will host its first NBL finals game since the 2003 championship decider when the Saints destroyed the then Waikato Titans three-peat bid with a 97-88 overtime win at Mystery Creek.
Dominion Finance NBL Playoffs
Semifinal (2nd vs 6th)
At Te Awamutu Events Centre, Te Awamutu
Waikato Pistons 86 (Brian Wethers 26, Mike Homik 13, Pero Cameron 11) Youthtown Auckland Stars 80 (Adrian Majstrovich 26, Casey Frank 21, George Baker 20)
1Q: 21-21
HT: 44-40 (23-19)
3Q: 65-61 (21-21)
FT: 86-80 (21-19)
Pistons vs Stars Box Score (22KB html)
