By Huw Beynon
Hunter Hale delivered another masterclass to help the Mike Pero Nelson Giants withstand a gritty comeback by the Go Media Otago Nuggets to clinch a thrilling 89-86 overtime win on Saturday night.
Hale dropped another 41 points in a supreme performance, capably supported by Donte Ingram and Nic Trathen, while the Nuggets looked to Sam Timmins, Geremy McKay and Isaiah Moss to help them bridge a 33-47 half-time deficit to tie the game in regulation time.
The Giants started with a 15-4 start with Hale and Ingram combining for all but two of those points, while Trathen came off the bench to add a quickfire 13 points of his own during a strong run late in the first and and into the second period.
By the half it looked like it was going to be a comfortable win for the visitors, but then we got to see the best of the Nuggets in the second half as they went on a 44-30 run to close out a dramatic chase.
Dominating inside, Timmins and McKay combined for 39 points, while Moss continued to show is silky skills with another strong performance.
The Nuggets will be disappointed with their 17 turnovers, which led to the Giants scoring 27 points.
Overtime was neck and neck with no team able to push clear, in the end it was a further seven points from Hale that proved the difference, capping a huge night for the Giants star.
The Giants were unable finish its road trip with a treble, going down to the Southland Sharks 101-92 in Invercargill on Sunday.
The Giants, playing their third game in four days, and less than 24 hours removed from the overtime win over the Nuggets, got off to a fast start.
A move to full court pressure from the Sharks started to force turnovers though, and the Sharks battled to a 2-point lead at quarter time, with Brayden Inger feeling it from beyond the arc.
The pain was compounded for the Giants with captain Sam Dempster copping an elbow to the head on a rebound, ending his night.
With Anzac Rissetto already not playing due to concussion, the Giants big men stocked were depleted.
The pressure maintained in the second and third quarters and the fatigue started to show.
The Giants committing turnover after turnover under duress from the impressive Sharks defence.
Inger continued to stay hot, and he was joined by Courtney Belger and Dominique Kelman-Poto as the home team won the second term by 10 points and the third by 11 to lead 87-64 at three quarter time.
Mike Fitchett sat imports Donte Ingram and Hunter Hale in the fourth, instead trusting an all-local line-up with the near impossible task of coming back from a 23 point deficit in 10 minutes.
Nic Trathen and Bronson Beri found rhythm and it was the Sharks turn to go on a run of turnovers.
The Giants getting back within 11, but it was too little too late, with Dom Kelman-Poto on hand to complete another impressive game in orange and lock in the victory.
The Sharks improve to 4-3, while the 3-5 Giants now have seven straight games at home.
Scorers:
Giants 89 (Hunter Hale 41, Donte Ingram 17, Nic Trathen 15)
Nuggets 86 Sam Timmins (18, Geremy McKay 21, Isaiah Moss 21)
Sharks 101 (Brayden Inger 27, Dominique Kelman-Poto 22, Courtney Belger 19)
Giants 92 (Hunter Hale 18, Nic Trathen 17, Donte Ingram 15, Bronson Beri 16)
