You can put a line through the Otago Nuggets’ playoff hopes.
They were effectively snuffed out by the Saints in Wellington on Saturday afternoon.
The Saints powered to a 106-80 win.
Ben Ayre starred with a double-double of 26 points and 10 assists, and import Terry Henderson Jun slotted 25 points and grabbed four steals.
Hard-working Nuggets forward Kimani Lawrence got busy in the paint and netted 24 points. Fellow import Zaccheus Darko-Kelly added 20 for an under-strength Nuggets unit.
There is help on the way. Shooting guard Ben Henshall will return from international duty for Australia this week.
But in his absence the Nuggets have fallen out of contention.
They actually started well against the Saints. They led 15-9 early.
Lawrence was getting some traction in the key and Darko-Kelly landed one from deep.
But there were also good signs for the Saints. Ayre and Henderson dropped in three-pointers to level the score.
Lawrence banked another off the class to lift his tally to 10 with a couple of minutes still remaining in the first quarter.
Tohi Smith-Milner answered back for the Saints with a couple of triples to give his side a 28-24 lead.
But Darko-Kelly pruned the gap to one with a half-court shot to beat the buzzer.
That was as good as it got for the Nuggets.
For the remainder of the game they were like the soft toy you toss to the dog. Rover will shake that thing until the seams split and all the stuffing tumbles out.
And that is exactly what the Saints did with the Nuggets.
Shake, shake, shake.
Smith-Milner starting the stirring. He nabbed back-to-back offensive rebounds under the lid and eventually got the ball to drop with his third shot.
Then he backed that up with a monster three-pointer. He let go of that one from Kilbirnie.
Henderson stroked another one in from out wide and suddenly the Nuggets were trailing by nine.
Matthew Bardsley replied with a three. He got a nice open look but the Nuggets trailed 56-46 at the break.
The Nuggets’ lack of depth told during the second half. They did not get a lot of help from the bench, whereas the Saints were able to roll on Malik Benlevi and he registered nine points and 11 rebounds in 24 minutes.
The last minute of the third quarter was painful for the Nuggets. Rangimarie Dougall-Mita (11 points) and Henderson speared in a three-pointer each to stretch the margin to 80-63.
Ayre cut his way to the hoop early in the fourth to underline just how unassailable the lead really was.
The Nuggets rallied with a brief run midway through the final stanza.
But the Saints outscored their opponents 26-17 to canter to a 26-point win.
Last night the Southland Sharks upset the Nelson Giants 98-83.
NBL
The scores
Wellington Saints 106
Ben Ayre 26, Terry Henderson 25
Otago Nuggets 80
Kimani Lawrence 24, Zaccheus Darko-Kelly 20
