Import Daniel Pippen II starred with 31 points.
But the American forward was ably assisted by team-mates Javion Blake (22 points) and Mustapha Heron (19 points), while veteran forward Marcel Jones landed some critical baskets late in the game.
The win lifted the Jets 4-8 and keeps their slim prospects of making the playoffs alive.
The Nuggets (7-4) started the season with seven consecutive wins but have slumped to four consecutive defeats.
They are still nicely placed, but will go into tomorrow night's game against a form Wellington Saints side without star point guard JaQuori McLaughlin.
He has a knee injury and has not made the trip north.
The loss was a big improvement on Monday's blowout 116-79 loss to the Southland Sharks.
Todd Withers (20 points) dropped in six three-pointers and Michael Harris added 22 points. He is still struggling to hit three-pointers, but used his speed to get to the cup.
Sam Timmins chipped in with 15 points and 10 rebounds, but he also turned the ball over seven times, which proved costly.
Darcy Knox (11 points) and Robbie Coman (14 points) put in a decent shift.
The Nuggets took just seconds to opening the scoring. Timmins won the jump ball, tipping it to Withers who forced in the lay-up.
Coman hit and couple of early threes and nabbed a bucket under the rim.
But the Jets did not miss a single shot in the opening six minutes.
Blake and Heron kept popping the ball in.
The Nuggets tried to counter by going inside.
Timmins got a couple of baskets in close, but, in the absence of McLaughlin, the turnovers started to mount for the Nuggets.
The Jets grabbed a series of offensive boards as well and went into the break up 30-26.
The Jets drilled another couple of triples to stretch the lead to 10.
The home side was setting a blistering tempo.
Harris cut to the basket for a couple of buckets.
His three-point radar has been on the blink, so he had to find another way to help the Nuggets grind their way back into the game.
Matthew Bardsley and Withers swished the ball from beyond the arc to help their side regain the lead.
Knox took a heavy charging foul when Pippen crashed through him on the way to the basket.
He picked himself back up and made a lay-up down the other end.
Gutsy stuff by the point guard, who really lifted his game.
Withers drilled another triple from the corner to stretch the lead to 52-44.
But the Jets closed the quarter with three unanswered baskets to trim the gap to two at halftime.
Pippen banged in 12 points in the period.
Blake made a scorching pass to Pippen in one of the few highlights in third.
The game had lost some shape.
But Withers slotted his fifth and sixth three-pointer late in the period to inject some quality back into the fixture.
The Jets nursed a 75-74 lead with 10 minutes to play.
The lead seemed to change every possession.
But back-to-back three-point buckets for the Jets and a dunk from Heron midway through the final period saw the lead blow out to seven points at a critical time.
The Nuggets tried to inch their way back by muscling in some baskets in the paint.
But Jones came up clutch in the final stretch. The 37-year-old came on when Joshua Leger fouled out and hit a mid-range jumper and three to help seal the win.
The scores
Manawatū Jets 99 (Daniel Pippen II 31, Javion Blake 22), Otago Nuggets 94 (Michael Harris 22, Todd Withers 20). Quarter scores 30-26, 50-52, 75-74.
