Buay Tuach hit a corner three-pointer in the opening seconds of the game and went on to lead the scoring with 21 points.
His production has been on the lean side in recent games. He has a tendency to get into foul trouble, but he stayed away from the naughty seat on Saturday.
Craig Moller bagged another double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. The Australian forward grabbed five steals as well. He really did hustle hard.
Alain Louis stacked the statistics sheet with 17 points, seven rebounds and six assists, while captain Ethan Rusbatch had a solid shift with 16 points.
The win lifted the Nuggets to seven wins from 15 games. Importantly, they have edged ahead in the battle for the final two playoff spots.
The loss leaves the Airs’ (5-10) season teetering.
Import Brandon Stroud led the way for the home team. He popped in 20 points and grabbed seven rebounds.
James Moors was busy around the rim. He collected 14 points and 12 rebounds.
The Nuggets got out to a 5-0 lead early thanks to Tuach hitting the target. Louis landed a triple as well. He does not shoot a lot of threes, so teams sleep on him out there.
Moller put in some tough defence down the other end.
Isaac Miller-Jose finished off a nice drive into the paint. He fouled out eventually, but his contribution of 10 points and 10 rebounds from the bench was helpful.
The Nuggets emerged with a 16-11 lead following a low-scoring first quarter.
Moller tossed in a hook shot and drilled a flat three-pointer to kick-start a more productive quarter.
Matthew Bardsley made a lovely cut along the baseline, collected the pass and finished with a dunk.
That play will make the highlight reel. It is a trademark move for the man nicknamed the Slippery Eel.
Speaking of slippery, the lead had slipped out to 10 by halftime.
The Airs were locked into playing catch-up basketball for the remainder of the game.
And they had to do that against the Nuggets, who had held them to 29 points in the first half.
Rusbatch connected from beyond the arc shortly after the resumption. And Louis followed suit with another triple of his own.
The lead blew out to 21 midway through the third period. The Nuggets had complete control, Aaron Cook jun helped wrestle back some momentum with a mid-range jumper.
But Tuach bobbled in a three-pointer, which must have bounced three or four times before dropping through the net.
A little lucky, perhaps, but there was no luck in the 66-50 lead with 10 minutes to play.
The Airs won the last quarter 27-24. But they had left themselves with too much to do.
The Nuggets beat the Airs 43-34 in the Rapid League game. Zach McKenzie starred with 17 points and eight rebounds.
In the other NBL games on Saturday, Donte Ingram scored 26 points to lead the Wellington Saints to a 111-109 overtime win over the Nelson Giants, and Taine Murray poured in 29 points as the Tauranga Whai beat the Franklin Bulls 93-79.
NBL
The scores
Otago Nuggets 90
Buay Tuach 21, Alain Louis 17
Taranaki Airs 77
Brandon Stroud 20, James Moors 14
Quarter scores: Nuggets 16-11, 39-29, 66-50.
