The Otago Nuggets have had that experience twice this season.
They let a win slip against a talented Wellington Saints lineup in Dunedin on Saturday night.
A month ago, they were edged by the Franklin Bulls in another one-point loss at home.
They just were not able to finish off.
And they are the sort of defeats that sit with a team — an uncomfortable reminder of all the ways you could have been marginally better.
Nuggets coach Jeff Sparrow was keen to move on from the heartbreaking 91-90 loss to the Saints and focus on today’s crucial game against the Bulls in Pukekohe instead.
But he was also determined the team get something in return for the disappointment.
‘‘We’ve just got to put people away, got to finish,’’ Sparrow said.
‘‘We’re doing enough throughout the course of the game to put ourselves in positions to be up in the fourth quarter against a really good team, so it’s just a matter of learning how to finish.
‘‘We’re a bunch of guys who have never won at a high level, so that’s part of the learning process.’’
His side led the Saints 88-81 with 1min 57sec on the clock.
A couple of crucial errors from Nuggets import Alain Louis down the stretch sealed their fate.
He fouled Elijah Pepper as the talented guard was shooting a three.
Pepper sank all three free throws to cut the gap to one point.
Then Louis made a bad pass while inbounding the ball. Pepper made the steal and got it to Braydon Iuli, who finished under the rim.
The Bulls also rallied to overhaul the Nuggets late. They trailed 74-67 after the third quarter but outscored the Nuggets 27-19 to win 94-93.
The Nuggets were missing power forward Isaac Miller-Jose in that game and Sparrow is hopeful he will help make a difference in the rematch today.
‘‘They crash the offensive glass, the best in the league. You have to stop them and impede them before they sprint into the paint and get off their feet.
‘‘And the last time we played them, it hurt us. That was without Isaac Miller-Jose, so hopefully having him on the court with Craig [Moller] allows us to squeeze those 50-50 rebounds.
‘‘I think they’re having a very similar year to us where they’ve had a few close losses.’’
The game carries a lot of weight in the playoff race.
The top four teams — the Saints, the Canterbury Rams, the Southland Sharks and the Auckland Tuatara — have already qualified for the top six playoffs.
The leaves the Nuggets (7-9), the Taranaki Airs (6-10), Tauranga Whai (6-10), Nelson Giants (5-11) and Franklin Bulls (5-11) battling for the remaining two spots with four round-robin games remaining.
The chasing pack is so tightly knit that a win for the Nuggets tonight could be enough to get them through and to effectively finish off the Bulls.
The Nuggets back up with a game in Auckland against the Tuatara on Sunday.
*Games records do no include the result of last night’s game between the Canterbury Rams and the Taranaki Airs in Christchurch.
When, where and who
Games and team
NBL doubleheader
v Bulls, Pukekohe, today 4pm
v Tuatara, Auckland, Sunday 6pm
Otago Nuggets: Alain Louis, Tyson Thata-Paese, Ethan Rusbatch, Buay Tuach, Craig Moller, Isaac Miller-Jose, Matthew Bardsley, Zach McKenzie, Caleb Smiler, Oak Chisholm,Toby Hunt, Patrick Tipene.
