Defence key as Nuggets grind out win

When your shots are not falling, your defence just has to be better.

The Otago Nuggets proved that last night. They won a grind against the Canterbury Rams 75-74 in their NBL match in Auckland.

The Nuggets held a narrow lead nearly the entire second half, before a Josh Aitcheson three-pointer with a minute left gave the Nuggets the buffer they needed down the stretch.

He gave the side a 75-71 lead, which the Nuggets held until Sam Smith hit a three-pointer on the buzzer to pull the Rams within one.

However, it was the first half defensive performance that won the Nuggets the game. They scored just 27 first-half points.

That could have easily left them well out of the game. But they held the Rams to just 27 of their own.

That was a significant turnaround two days after giving up 61 points in the first half in a narrow loss to the Taranaki Mountainairs.

Their offence was messy and the shots did not fall, as they looked to get to the hoop against a physical Canterbury defence.

But they struggled to get any fluidity and they connected only once from deep.

A third-quarter explosion from No1 draft pick Jordan Ngatai ignited the side.

He had his best game of the season and was instrumental in finding a way to the hoop when they needed a basket.

His 25 points — 12 in the third quarter — helped the side take control, while he found open team-mates as the defence began to lock in on him.

Twice he drove to the hoop to complete three-point plays, before throwing down a thunderous dunk in traffic to exert his dominance.

That helped the side to a 53-47 lead heading into the final quarter.

But it could not pull away.

The Nuggets kept scoring, but the Rams kept answering, despite limited minutes from new star Reuben Te Rangi and Toby Gillooly on his return from injury.

Notably, guard Sam Smith poured in 15 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter to keep Canterbury in touch.

But it never stole the lead.

Aitcheson's (12 points) three-pointer opened the four -point lead with a minute to go.

Jordan Hunt, who was in foul trouble for much of the game, came up with a big block to deny the Rams at the other end.

Hunt appeared to have made the lead six with a tip-in seconds later.

But that was overruled as a shot clock violation.

The Nuggets held off the Rams late, before Smith's three on the buzzer reduced the margin to one.

In the early game, the Auckland Huskies beat the Taranaki Mountainairs 102-99 in overtime.