For the second time in three years, the Otago Nuggets are champions of the National Basketball League.
They concluded their playoff run with a thrilling 81-73 win over Auckland’s Auckland Tuatara in tonight’s final.
Like the other two, this was a win that was based on a rock-solid defense and energy across the field.
Meanwhile, Keith Williams came up with timely baskets everywhere, with a top score of 34 points.
He attacked the rim aggressively before coming up with two late baskets to secure the win after the Nuggets held on to a two-point lead.
A 10-point run from Tray Boyd (18 points) was equally crucial, bringing the Nuggets back into the lead at halftime after falling 11 points behind halfway through the second quarter.
The win follows the Nuggets’ title in the 2020 NBL Showdown.
Williams provided most of the early scoring for the Nuggets.
He reached the ring, while also hitting from the center to have 10 points early.
However, the Nuggets struggled to generate much more and the Tuatara shot ahead through Siler Schneider and Taki Fahrensohn.
They were leading 22-17 at halftime and that grew after the break.
Dontae Russo-Nance began to force himself into the game and after a corner three, followed by a step-through lay-up, forced the Nuggets into a 37-26 timeout.
However, the Nuggets responded well.
They gained momentum when Boyd hit a pull-up jumper to cause a run in which he scored 10 consecutive runs of his own.
That gave the Nuggets a 43-42 lead at halftime.
Dynamic forward Chris Johnson took the lead for the Tuatara in the third quarter, most notably throwing two thunderous slam dunks.
However, the Nuggets kept the rest of the team quiet and after resisting the pressure they moved forward.
Williams started to drive aggressively, giving the Nuggets a 62-52 lead when he hit two free throws, which followed a three-pointer that he topped.
But Tuatara point guard Schneider ended the quarter well, reducing the Nuggets lead to 64-59 at the end of the third quarter.
The game starts to get hectic at that point.
But the Nuggets locked themselves in, while Williams came up with a handful of key baskets.
However, the Tuatara had one last run.
Rob Loe scored in the paint, before Russo-Nance hit two free throws to bring them in.
But Boyd hit a free throw, before Williams scored a transition lay-up to give the Nuggets a four-point lead in the last minute.