Josh Aitcheson leapt high and rose above.
Tray Boyd’s shot bobbled around the rim, the scores tied as the seconds counted down in Napier last night.
Hyrum Harris seemed in position to secure the rebound.
But Aitcheson soared over the Hawke’s Bay Hawks star forward, tipping the ball in and securing an 84-82 win for the Otago Nuggets in Napier.
It was as big a play as they come and an equally huge win.
This was an understrength Nuggets team, without Sam Timmins and Nikau McCullough, playing a quality team on the second night of a road double-header.
It had lost five of its past six matches: eight days earlier it had one of its worst losses in recent years. The playoffs seemed to be slipping away.
But the win pulls the Nuggets back to a tie for fourth on seven wins with the Hawks, Franklin Bulls and Canterbury Rams.
Coach Brent Matehaere, asked how the team was feeling after a third consecutive win over the Hawks, said: "I think pretty tired."
"I think it was a nice tip-in. Overtime might have been a struggle. But we’re obviously super stoked. We’ve come in this weekend and really stepped up.
"I thought our performance [against the Wellington Saints on Sunday] was a real stepping stone ...
"It just kept coming to fruition. The guys got enough stops and it came down to defence."
Aitcheson’s play was the winner, but it was last in a stretch of big plays for the Nuggets.
Boyd and Keith Williams shot well, posting 30 and 24 points respectively, while the team scrapped on defence to stick around most of the game.
However, it looked as though the Hawks were beginning to pull away in the fourth quarter.
They led 72-67 when Boyd cut the deficit to three, before Williams stole the inbound pass and made the margin one.
Again the Hawks responded and went ahead 80-77 with 96sec remaining when star forward Tajuan Agee (21 points) finished a three-point play.
However, back-to-back plays from Todd Withers (15 points) at either end of the court pulled the Nuggets in front.
He barely flinched in the face of his Adelaide 36ers team-mate Harris, who was his opposite last night, as he let fly and drained a three-pointer to make it 80-80.
He then clamped Harris at the other end, before blocking the Hawks star’s shot.
That gave Boyd the chance to get to the line — beating Jarrod Kenny and being fouled at the rim by Jack Salt — to give the Nuggets a two-point buffer.
Salt hit two free throws of his own at the other end, but Aitcheson had the final say.
The series of big plays was key and Matehaere said it was a product of different players stepping up.
"Todd hit that three, he missed a couple earlier and nailed that one to tie it up.
"Then Jack [Andrew] got that massive stop, great defence on one of the best players to have played the game of basketball in New Zealand, Jack Salt.
"He made a great play, got a rebound and we gave ourselves a chance to win. And we took it."
National Basketball League
The scores
Otago Nuggets 84
Tray Boyd 30, Keith Williams 24
Hawke’s Bay Hawks 82
Tajuan Agee 21, Hyrum Harris 17
Quarter scores: 22-21, 39-41, 60-62
-- Staff Reporter
