The talent-laden side cruised to its eighth consecutive win in the league with a comprehensive 101-81 win against the Otago Nuggets (4-9) in Dunedin on Saturday night.
The ease with which the visitors were able to pull away was an ominous sign for the rest of the league.
The Nuggets kept the game tight for about 25 minutes. The lead changed hands 15 times and the scores were level on eight occasions.
But the home side just could not match Auckland's class.
Akeem Wright (15 points and 10 rebounds) did a fantastic job guarding Lindsay Tait. And Antoine Tisby (21 and 10) might have been giving up 10cm to Alex Pledger, but he held his own and perhaps even had the better of the encounter.
The problem was the Auckland pair were still able to impose themselves on the game.
Tait scorched 18 points to go with his nine assists, and Pledger grabbed six boards and scored 16 points in a little over 20 minutes.
Ultimately, it was the Pirates' depth which hurt the Nuggets, as six players got into double figures.
Hayden Allen shared top-billing with Tait, scoring 18 points and was the Pirates' leading rebounder with nine boards - not bad for a guard.
Auckland imports Ron Dorsey (17 points) and Ismail Muhammad (16 points) both look more than capable of taking charge of a game on any given night, and back-up guard Brook Ruscoe (13 points) had his moments from the three-point line.
Dillon Boucher had a quiet night, with just one rebound, but all we know what he is capable of, and centre Nick Barrow split minutes with Pledger and looks to be pretty useful, as well.
Leon Henry had his best game for the Nuggets with 19 points and 10 rebounds but Mike Fitchett had an off night. He came up empty from fourattempts from the three-point line.
The Nuggets' free throw shooting was terrible with 10 from 21. Wright accounted for six missed attempts on his own.
Otago coach Alf Arlidge accepted the defeat with good grace and said the Pirates were simply too good for his side on the night.
"We were there or thereabouts in the first half," he said.
"But the fourth quarter, unfortunately, just got away from us. Obviously, we got tired and we went away from running our sets.
"They are a great team and we had to slow the game down to our pace and we didn't do that in that fourth quarter.
"They are going to be very hard to stop. They just have so much firepower. Wow."
The win completed a satisfying trip south for the Pirates. They beat the Southland Sharks 106-87 in Invercargill on Friday.
Also on Friday, the Manawatu Jets beat the Taranaki Mountain Airs 102-85 in New Plymouth, and the Nelson Giants beat the Hawks 90-87 in Nelson.
The Hawks lost 88-73 the following night to the Wellington Saints in the capital, and the Jets eased to a 83-71 win against the Harbour Heat in Auckland.
The Pirates now top the table with 10 wins from 12 games.
The scores
Auckland Pirates 101
Lindsay Tait 18, Hayden Allen 18
Otago Nuggets 81
Antoine Tisby 21, Leon Henry 19
Quarter 20-25, halftime 48-47, third quarter 72-64
