The Mountain Airs centre had a colossal game, scoring 30 points and grabbing 21 rebounds, three blocks and two steals.
He is some player and for three quarters he dominated his opposite Warren Carter. The Nuggets centre came alive in the second half and finished with 31 points and 11 rebounds.
Ordinarily that would be a very good night but Carter was outclassed by a more dynamic player.
Asked if the Nuggets defended their hoop well enough, player-coach Mark Dickel gave a crisp reply.
''Well, obviously not. I mean, one guy had 30 points and 20-odd rebounds, so clearly not,'' he said.
The Nuggets went into the game with a record of 4-1, while the visitors had been struggling with one win from five games.
''We didn't play particularly well and they deserved to win. At the end of the day you have to put the performance on the court otherwise you lose - it does not matter who you play.
''It is a good lesson for us to learn. At least we are learning now and not later on in the season.''
A crowd of 1500 watched as the Nuggets made a sluggish start at the Edgar Centre.
The visitors streaked out to a 8-3 lead and it took a three-point buzzer-beater from Dickel to get the home side into the game.
Troy Payne made a couple of magic steals as the Nuggets went on an 11-point run but some uncharacteristic sloppy passing from Dickel and poor rebounding saw the Mountain Airs retake the lead by the break.
Carter, who was like a ghost in the opening stanza, got on the end of a Dickel assist and finished with a dunk.
Braimoh, though, was clearly winning the battle of the centres. He had shown his class early in the match with an effortless drive to the hoop. By halftime the big American had pulled down 13 rebounds and scored 16 points.
He started the second half by waltzing past Carter and jamming the ball down the basket. Nice move but a bit more urgency and Carter might have got a stop.
He was also awfully slow getting back on occasions but, that said, Carter was still able to contribute on the scoreboard and posted 14 points in the third quarter. With the game on the line, he emerged a different player. No more seagulling. No more casual Carter. No more lumbering back.
He owned the final stages. The ball was never too far from his hands and he used his best weapon - speed - to outpace Braimoh.
The home team closed to within two points but the 10-point gap at three quarters time proved a few too many.
Brendon Polyblank had another solid game for the Nuggets with 21 points and seven rebounds and Dickel tightened his grip on the assist title with 13 assists. He also had nine points, nine rebounds and four steals.
In other matches, the Wellington Saints beat the Nelson Giants 81-77 in the capital. In Napier, the Hawkes Bay Hawks beat Canterbury Rams 91-89.
The Otago Gold Rush lost its opening match in the Women's Basketball Championship 73-56 to the Waitakere Lady Rangers in Christchurch. Suzie Bates top-scored with 19 points and Samara Gallaher chipped in with 17 points and eight rebounds.
NBL
The scores
Taranaki Mountain Airs 86
Suleiman Braimoh 30, Adrian Oliver 15
Otago Nuggets 84
Warren Carter 31, Brendon Polyblank 21
Quarter scores: 21-20, 45-36, 66-56
