The Nuggets gave the powerful Auckland Stars an unexpected scare at the Edgar Centre on Saturday night and had a chance to win the game in what would have been one of the more remarkable comebacks in the history of the franchise.
Sole import Antoine Tisby got the ball with 6sec remaining but his long-range shot was off target as Auckland counted its lucky stars to get a 78-76 win.
At the end of a season which has included the banishment of three imports and the suspensions of two players for drug use, the Nuggets are not dying until the last bullet has been pumped into their carcass.
It's actually quite sad.
Things seem sorted off the court and with a bit more talent the side could unquestionably be more than a makeweight in the national league.
"The thing is we've always played hard this season," Nuggets coach Don Sims told the Otago Daily Times yesterday.
"Sometimes the distractions, whatever they might have been, have clouded what the team is doing.
"That's always the case.
"But we pride ourselves on playing hard and aggressive and playing as a team."
Sims is nearing the end of his first year in charge and has signalled his intention to keep working at breathing life back into a moribund franchise.
"I think the Nuggets have a great future.
"It's a process, a two- or three-year process to get to the top.
"We have a great group of young guys who are learning what it's like to play at this level.
That means we've got the base for a bright future."
Auckland jumped to a 23-15 lead after the first quarter on Saturday night but the Nuggets squared the second period and won the third and fourth.
Brent Charleton found his shooting range, scoring a team-high 27 points on 8-of-15 shooting from the field and 5-of-11 from three-point range.
Tisby added 24 points and 15 rebounds, Shaun Tilby made the most of a rare start to post 10 points, eight rebounds and five assists, and Darryl Jones had eight points and 11 boards.
The Nuggets were hurt by turnovers (17 to eight) and nasty (48%) shooting from the free-throw line.
"No doubt we had a chance to win.
"We had opportunities in the fourth quarter but couldn't quite do it," Sims said.
"We've got a lot of young kids and they're going to make mistakes, and a couple of key turnovers hurt us at the end."
The Stars were paced by the hot hand of Adrian Majstrovich, who went 16-of-24 from the floor in his 37 points and added seven rebounds.
Veteran Tall Blacks Dillon Boucher and Casey Frank combined for just 12 points but Auckland managed to seal a play-off spot with the victory.
Auckland Stars 78 (Adrian Majstrovich 37, Reece Cassidy 11), Otago Nuggets 76 (Brent Charleton 27, Antoine Tisby 24, Shaun Tilby 10).
Quarter scores: 1st, 23-15; 2nd, 48-40; 3rd, 63-56.
