Lemar Gayle's star burned brightly in his first match for the Otago Nuggets but it was the Auckland Stars who claimed the competition points with a 92-82 win at ASB Stadium on Thursday evening.
Still trying to shake jet lag after arriving in New Zealand from the United States on Tuesday evening, Gayle laced up his boots and top-scored for the Nuggets with 20 points.
The 1.95m guard was cleared to play late on Wednesday and had an immediate impact on the National Basketball League, racing to 19 points before the Stars double-teamed the classy American.
Former Tall Black forward Dillon Boucher clung to Gayle and snuffed out his scoring opportunities, while the Stars' tall timber of Adrian Majstrovich and Casey Frank ran amok with 25 and 23 points respectively.
Gayle has replaced fellow American Rahsaan Smith (34) in the squad. The 2.14m centre was disappointing in the Nuggets' opening matches and has been axed from the roster, leaving the Nuggets without an experienced centre. Jason Greig (2.10m) has shown improvement but was no match for Frank
While most pundits were praising Gayle's debut, Nuggets coach Don Sims, who coached Gayle at the Seattle Mountaineers last year, said his star player was short of a gallop.
‘‘He struggled a little bit in the second half and started to cramp up so he wasn't himself,' Sims said.
Gayle was struggling from the long plane trip but had also let his conditioning slide since he was released from the NBA Development League.
Last night at the North Shore Events Centre, Harbour Heat proved too strong for the Nuggets winning the game 93-82.
Auckland Stars 92 (Adrian Majstrovich 25, Case Frank 23, Dylan Perfect-Tait 15, Larry Bratcher 12), Otag Nuggets 82 (Lemar Gayle 20, Jay Anderson 18, Bren Charleton 17, Nat Connell 10). Half-time: 53-44.
Harbour Heat 93 (Hayden Allen 27, Oscar Forman 23 Mika Vukona 14), Otago Nuggets 82 (Lemar Gayle 30 Jay Anderson 13, Brent Charleton 13, Nat Connell 12) Half-time: Heat 51-41.
