The Whai got a lot of free shots from out wide and they made the Nuggets pay, cruising to a 97-82 win in Rotorua tonight.
The Nuggets are back in action tonight.
They play the Hawke's Bay Hawks in Napier and they have a lot to work on before that encounter.
At the top of the list is finding a patch for their abysmal perimeter defence.
It was glitchy.
Kruz Perrott-Hunt and Chris Jones drilled 25 points each. Carter Hopoi and Xanda Marsters were good value with 16 points.
Jose Perez led the way for the Nuggets with a double-double of 26 points and 10 rebounds.
And Don Carey jun warmed up after a cold start to bank 23 points.
Todd Withers (18 points, 8 rebounds) put in a big shift on defence but he needed more help. Much more help.
Perez got going early. He popped in back-to-back buckets and added a free throw.
Carey scored in transition to bank his first points for the Nuggets.
The American guard sat out the opening loss to the Southland Sharks on Friday while awaiting clearance.
His first few minutes were not terribly impressive, though. He was off target from range and turned the ball over several times.
Jones buried a deep three-pointer to give the Whai a 13-9 lead midway through the opening stanza.
The Whai ran into early foul trouble, though. Hopoi and Talib Zanna were forced to the bench with two fouls apiece.
Marsters nailed back-to-back triples to open up a decent lead.
But the Nuggets inched their way back thanks to the Whai giving up 11 fouls.
They trailed 21-20 at the break.
Perrott-Hunt drilled a three to open the second period for the Whai.
Carey finally connected from beyond the arc and Perez bullied his way inside again to improve his tally.
The Nuggets drew level briefly, but the home side landed three consecutive triples to pull away.
Otago left the corner open again and Jayden Bezzant swished in another three to complete the half.
That one hurt. It was a stinger.
The Nuggets had been staying in touch through forcing turnovers and knocking down free throws.
They needed more than scraps to stay in the contest.
But more lazy running saw the Nuggets slip further behind. Their transition defence was sloooooow. Think glacial.
The Whai scored 11 unanswered points to start the second half.
The Nuggets rallied with a series of stops. But they had fallen so far behind and they were so cold from range, that they were unable to peg the lead back by much.
Down 12 points with 10 minutes remaining the Nuggets needed to start the final period strongly.
Withers knocked down a three but they left Hopoi open in the corner and he drilled it.
That really summed the night up.
The Whai dispatched the Nuggets 39-26 in the Rapid League game, while Corey Webster dropped in 30 points to help the Manawatū Jets beat the Taranaki Airs 93-84 in New Plymouth on Tuesday night.
The scores
Tauranga Whai 97 (Kruz Perrott-Hunt 25, Chris Jones 25), Otago Nuggets 82 (Jose Perez 26, Don Carey jun 23). Quarter scores 21-20, 55-48, 77-65.
