The silky skills of American guard Eric Devendorf helped the Waikato Pistons account for the Otago Nuggets 97-64 in Hamilton last night.
The tournament's leading player enhanced his reputation with another fine performance in scoring 29 points, and Tall Black Thomas Abercrombie helped twist the knife with 23 points as the visiting side ran out of legs in the second half.
But it was the Pistons' powerful forward line-up of Tony Ronaldson and Alex Pledger which eventually wore the Nuggets down. Centre Antoine Tisby did his best to keep Otago in the match with 25 points and six rebounds, and fellow American import Tyler Amaya scored 21 points, grabbed seven boards and made six assists.
The Nuggets led 23-19 at the first break but were outscored 26-12 in the second spell and faded over the final 20 minutes.
The Nuggets are 0-4 but have a chance to register their first win tonight, when they play the Taranaki Mountainairs in New Plymouth.
In other matches, the Southland Sharks recored their second win in their debut season, upsetting the Christchurch Cougars 79-75, and the Harbour Heat dispatched the Manawatu Jets in Auckland 105-73.
- Waikato Pistons 97 (Eric Devendorf 29, Thomas Abercrombie 23) Otago Nuggets 64 (Antoine Tsiby 25, Tyler Amaya 21). Quarter 19-23, halftime 45-35, third quarter 72-52.
• The Miami Heat put a serious dent in the Chicago Bulls' play-off prospects with a resounding 103-74 victory at the United Centre in Chicago yesterday, Reuters reports.
Jermaine O'Neal scored 24 points while Dwyane Wade was the team's playmaker with 12 points and 10 assists as the Heat (38-34) built a 30-point halftime lead and moved into sole possession of sixth place in the Eastern Conference.
The defeat dropped Chicago two games behind the eighth-place Toronto Raptors with 11 games to go in the regular season.
