Basketball New Zealand

Tall Blacks forward Mika Vukona

Tall Blacks forward Mika Vukona was at the heart of controversy in game three of the Australian National Basketball League Finals in Melbourne on Sunday night.

Vukona was ejected late in the third quarter of the South Dragons 84-67 win at Hisense Arena, along with Melbourne Tigers centre Chris Anstey, for his involvement in a melee, sparked by Anstey’s apparent elbow to the head of Dragons point guard Rhys Carter.

Vukona had four points (0/3 FG, 4/6 FT), five rebounds and a block in 18 minutes at the time of his ejection, following on from eight points (4/5 FG), seven boards and an assist in 21 minutes in Friday night’s 88-83 game two loss at the State Hockey & Netball Centre.

The Dragons, looking for the club’s first title in just its third season, lead the series 2-1, with game four at the Tigers home court on Wednesday night and game five, if necessary, back at Hisense on Friday night.

Vukona, Anstey and possibly Carter could face suspensions for game three’s incident, with the ANBL to decide on further punishments on Monday.

Vukona’s Tall Blacks team-mate Nick Horvath had two points (1/1 FG) and a rebound in seven minutes in game three, and two points (1/2 FG) and a rebound in 15 minutes in game two.

In the NBA, former Tall Black Sean Marks made low-key contributions as the New Orleans Hornets went 2-1 last week.

Marks had four points (2/3 FG) and three rebounds in 14:50 in the Hornets 104-88 home win over the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday; went scorless (0/1 FG) in 10:25 in a 108-90 home win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday; and two points (2/2 FT) in 6:50 in an 89-79 road loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Monday.

The loss in Atlanta halted a seven-game win streak for New Orleans, who sit sixth in the Western Conference at 39-23 and third in the Southwest division, with road contests against the Washington Wizards, Milwaukee Bucks and Chicago Bulls upcoming this week.