Sometimes you just need your opponent to miss every now and again.
That pretty much sums up how Otago Nuggets coach Brent Matehaere was feeling after his side was beaten 114-103 by the Canterbury Rams in the NBL semifinal in Auckland on Saturday night.
"We couldn’t find a way to stop them," Matehaere said.
"We had a hand up on the shooters and we were in their space, but they were just knocking them down."
Both sides put a lot of darts in the bullseye.
But the Rams crammed in a few more than the defending champions.
Incredibly, they landed 15 of their 31 three-point attempts. They missed, just not often enough.
They also got the benefit of a key call with just over two minutes remaining.
Michael Harris was called for an off-the-ball foul and Corey Webster put up a shot a second or two later which the officials decided counted.
Canterbury got the ball back and the classy Tevin Brown drilled a three-pointer.
"That was a key moment in the game that didn’t go our way. They came out and hit a three-pointer, so that was a five-point possession."
The game was still in the balance but the Rams had more composure when it counted the most.
They also had Corey Webster and Brown. The duo banged in 47 points between them.
Troy Baxter jun (19 points) and Max Darling (17 points) were instrumental as well.
Tai Webster (29 points), Sam Timmins (28 points) and Harris (27 points) poured a lot of energy into the game only for victory to drift out of reach.
There were some very good early signs for the Nuggets.
Tai Webster drilled some early buckets, racked an assist and marched the ball to the hoop with ease.
Timmins looked strong under the rim.
Todd Withers drilled a three-pointer and the Nuggets had opened up a 16-6 lead midway through the period.
The Rams took a time-out to scratch their heads and it worked.
But Harris hit a couple of monster threes and smashed a dunk to help build a 33-23 lead at the first break.
Brown replied with a couple of lay-ups and Corey Webster hit a three from the top of the key and got another a few moments later.
Then he slipped by his younger brother Tai to net a lay-up. And just like that all of the Nuggets’ lead had been wiped out.
The Nuggets tried to inject forward Robbie Coman into the game. But, in a clerical blunder, he had been left off the team sheet and was not able to play in the game.
The quarter was shaping as a complete write-off. But Harris hit a late three, Webster floated in a basket and Timmins hit a free throw.
But Darling had the last say in the half. He popped in a hook shot to give the Rams a 50-49 lead.
Harris was on the end of some slick passing and finished it off with a three-pointer.
Withers made a steal and dunk and Timmins got a bucket under the basket.
But the Rams hit some big shots as well. Corey Webster landed a three in the dying moments of the third to stretch the lead to 83-78.
With the game on the line, the defending champions went inside to Timmins and the Nuggets captain responded with some pressure shooting at the stripe.
All the hard work unravelled, though. The Nuggets lost some poise in the final minutes and the Rams eased away.
The Rams went on to beat the Auckland Tuatara 93-82 in the final yesterday.
NBL semifinal
The scores
Canterbury Rams 114
Corey Webster 24, Tevin Brown 23
Otago Nuggets 103
Tai Webster 29, Sam Timmins 28
Quarter scores: 23-33, 50-49, 83-78.
