The Nuggets have made a perfect beginning to the National Basketball League with three wins from three matches. They are three and ... oh boy this is great start to the season.
They have beaten up on the hapless Super City Rangers twice, the latest a 96-81 win in Auckland yesterday.
But it is Saturday's result against the Tab Baldwin-led Hawkes Bay Hawks in Taradale which has captured the imagination.
It is no mean feat to come away from the Hawks' home court with a win, and historically the Nuggets have really struggled with the match-up. The franchise had not recorded a win against the Hawks in 10 years, but added a full stop to the 17-game losing streak with a superb 81-74 victory.
The game was in the balance with two minutes remaining. The Hawks had drawn level at 74 apiece. But captain Mark Dickel was not about to let the win slip away and drilled four free throws in the final exchanges to ice the victory.
Centre Antoine Tisby starred with 25 points and 10 rebounds, and former Tall Black BJ Anthony underlined his class with another solid haul of 18 points. Akeem Wright also kept busy with 12 points and nine rebounds.
Paora Winitana top-scored for the home side with 19 points and was dangerous from three-point range. Jarrod Kenny was productive on offence as well with 15 points, and import Brian Greene looked promising with 14 points and eight rebounds but fouled out and watched the final moments unfold from the bench.
In the 15-point win against the Rangers, Wright top-scored with 29 points and Anthony amassed 19 points before he fouled out. Tisby (16) and Brendon Polyblank (11) also registered double figures.
The Nuggets started slowly and actually trailed 27-20 at the first break with the home side quick to find its range from beyond the arc.
The Nuggets rebounded to outscore their opponents 26-14 and take a five-point advantage into the halftime break. The Rangers played tough, giving up 30 fouls and having five of their players fouled out.
But some terrible free-throw shooting from the Nuggets, particularly from Wright, kept the margin closer than it perhaps could have been.
Wright landed just eight of his 15 attempts from the charity stripe. He should have cracked 30 points with that many freebies.
Nuggets coach Alf Arlidge said it was not perfect but it was a win nonetheless.
''The Rangers played really well,'' he said.
''But in that first half we couldn't buy a bucket ... but in the third quarter, which in the years I've coached has been a real Achilles heel, we were really good.
''But we've got a lot to do yet. We've got to keep working.''
While Arlidge was relieved with the win against the Rangers, he was elated with the win against the Hawks.
''At the moment it is up there with the top three or four,'' he said.
Arlidge was quoted in the Hawke's Bay Today last week as saying this would be his last year at the helm but backed off from those comments when questioned by the Otago Daily Times.
''I've got a one-year contract so we'll wait and see.''
Arlidge is in his fourth year with the franchise and has endured some lean years. To help put the Nuggets' 3-0 opening to the season into context, it is worth remembering the franchise has already won one more game than it did in the two years (2010 and 2011) following its return to the league after a year out for financial reasons.
It is also the Nuggets' best start to a season this century. NBL records are sketchy before 2000, but 1997 and 1991 were productive years for the franchise although the Nuggets started with a loss in both those campaigns.
In other matches this week, the Manawatu Jets prevailed 87-86 against the Rangers, the Wellington Saints beat the Taranaki Mountainairs 100-89 and the Southland Sharks 83-75, and the Nelson Giants bagged two wins, beating the the Waikato Pistons 93-78 and Mountainairs 91-90.
The Nuggets' next match is against the unbeaten Nelson Giants in Dunedin on Sunday.
