Good effort not enough to end drought
That is the first thought that came to mind for Otago Nuggets coach Mike Kelly following his side's 98-92 loss to the Hawke's Bay Hawks in Dunedin on Saturday night.
The Nuggets produced arguably their best effort at home since the narrow loss to the Auckland Tuatara in early April.
They are on a nine-game losing streak in the National Basketball League but had an opportunity to break the drought.
But the Hawks snatched the win in the final few minutes.
They simply had more composure when it mattered the most.
"The guys are playing really hard," Kelly said.
"They're trying to play together, but we still have our patches of defence where we're not consistent."
That has been a familiar theme for the Nuggets.
They just have not been able to string stops together often enough.
The Nuggets trailed by three points with two minutes remaining but they looked panicked and blundered a possible win away.
But there were some promising signs that the next win might be drawing closer.
Jonathan Janssen had a monster night. He battled his way to the hoop for 33 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.
Jaylen Sebree has his best game in the Nuggets' singlet. He collected 29 points and nine rebounds.
But he blotted his copybook with an unprofessional technical foul. He got right in the face of a referee to argue about a call.
Don Carey jun (21 points, six assists) burst into life in the second half.
No-one else on the Nuggets' roster made much of a dent.
"Jono did really well and we're going to need him to score like that.
"And Jaylen as well, particularly in that first half."
The Hawks spread the scoring more.
Daniel Grida and Jackson Ball added 20 apiece, Luca Yates scored 19 and Campbell Scott and Wani Swaka Lo Buluk popped in 18 each.
The Nuggets made a promising start.
Sebree cut to the hoop and Janssen muscled his way there.
Midway through the opening period they led 14-7.
Grida is all hustle and he got the visitors going with some good work in the paint.
Yates shunted his way to the rim for a bucket.
But the Nuggets had the last say in the quarter, potting four free throws to take a 24-18 lead.
Sebree connected with the first three of the game three minutes into the second period.
Janssen followed his lead with a triple of his own.
Moments later he wrestled an offensive, got the foul and added two from the stripe.
Sebree drilled a deep three and floated in a mid-range shot to take his total into the 20s.
The Nuggets had opened up a 17-point lead but most of it vanished.
Ball iced a couple of triples and the Hawks scored 11 unanswered points to close out the half.
That was a damaging stretch in the context of the game.
Carey had a quiet half but landed a deep three when the Nuggets needed a basket.
But Yates was getting some traction inside. He backed his way in, turned and popped in a lay-up to level the score.
Scott hit a three and suddenly the Nuggets trailed by seven.
All their labour was unravelling.
They needed a strong finish to the quarter and they got it. Carey landed from beyond the arc and Patrick Freeman slapped away a shot.
With 10 minutes remaining, the score was level 72-72.
It all came down to that last 120 seconds. The Hawks nursed a small advantage but was enough to pressure their opponent into mistakes.
The Hawks won the Rapid League game 42-31. NBL The scores
Hawke's Bay Hawks 98
Daniel Grida 20, Jackson Bell 20
Otago Nuggets 92
Jonathan Janssen 33, Jaylen Sebree 29
Quarter scores: 24-18, 53-47, 72-72.
adrian.seconi@odt.co.nz
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