Too much Pepper spoils everything. Wellington Saints guard Elijah Pepper conspired to ruin the Otago Nuggets' push for a third National Basketball League title. The competition’s leading scorer speared 33 points to lead his side to a 94-81 win in a playoff game in Porirua on Thursday night. The Nuggets fought hard to stay in touch, but victory slipped away late in the third quarter. The Saints scored nine unanswered points to take a 15-point lead into the final quarter, and that proved unassailable. They will play the Auckland Tuatara in the first semifinal in Auckland on Saturday, while the Southland Sharks will play Canterbury in the other semifinal in Christchurch on Sunday. The Nuggets will begin the season debrief. They had a very decent campaign. Coach Jeff Sparrow squeezed plenty out of a roster which does not feature much star power. And for a good chunk of the game they stuck with the defending champions. The opening quarter was tightly contested. Akech Aliir got two shots from the corner and connected with the second to open the scoring. Craig Moller, who grabbed 14 rebounds, responded with a triple for the Nuggets. Pepper did not take long to impose himself on the match. He finished under the hoop and added the extra for the foul. Nuggets captain Ethan Rusbatch (18 points) found himself under enormous pressure but wriggled his way to the hoop for a bucket. But that man Pepper landed a three from deep before anyone knew what he was up to. He gets downhill so quickly and added another two soon after. Matthew Bardsley always finds a way to contribute for the Nuggets and got around Pepper. He made a subtle fake one way, went in the other direction and the lane opened up. Minutes later, he collected another two points after he slipped behind the defence to support Moller, who was double-teamed. Moller threaded the ball to him and he finished. Saints forward Hyrum Harris picked up two early fouls. The Nuggets were terrible at the free throw line, though. They landed two of their seven attempts and went into the break trailing 24-21. The Saints went on an 8-2 run early in the second period. The Nuggets rallied with a couple of fast breaks to trim the gap. Harris was creating a match-up problem. Alain Louis did his best to keep him off the rim but was overpowered and picked up a foul. Saints forward Donte Ingram provided a clip for the highlight reel. He collected a pass and stampeded his way to the hoop. The Nuggets stayed in touch, though. Rusbatch hit a tough three-pointer with a hand in his face and another defender closing the gap rapidly. Moments later, he had a floater swatted away from Aliir in a wonderfully athletic play. The Nuggets finished the half nicely. Buay Tuach, who top-scored for the Nuggets with 22 points, drained a long two and Louis bulldozed his way into the paint and found Miller-Jose under the lid. Rusbatch scored early in the third quarter to cut the gap to 51-49. Moller netted two more to tie the score. Then Tuach gave the Nuggets their first lead of the game moments later. Louis had found him unmarked in the paint with a nice pass. Pepper plonked in a three with a quick catch-and-release from deep. Aliir rejected another shot with a second block and Pepper struck again with a triple. The lead was creeping up. The Nuggets needed to finish the quarter strongly but victory slipped further out of reach. Harris swiped away a shot for Tyson Thata-Paese. Pepper drove to the hoop and finished with his left hand. Jordan Hunt nabbed a steal and Carlin Davison (17 points, 11 assists) rammed in a dunk. It was a match-winning scoring burst. They took a 75-60 lead into the final quarter. The Nuggets kept battling, but they were unable to close the gap and mount a serious challenge in the fourth period. NBL The scores Wellington Saints 94 Elijah Pepper 33, Carlin Davison 17 Otago Nuggets 81 Buay Tuach 22, Ethan Rusbatch 18 Quarter scores: 24-21, 51-47, 74-60, 94-81. adrian.seconi@odt.co.nz
