And American guard Don Carey jun did a lot of the heavy lifting in the 93-86 win against the Hawke’s Bay Hawks in Napier tonight.
He poured in 34 points and helped shut down Hawks' wonder kid Jackson Ball in a superb performance.
But Jose Perez can take a bow as well.
The Nuggets' small forward is built more like a bull than a gazelle and he has copped criticism about his fitness.
But he pops up exactly where the team needs him and he filled out the statistics sheet with 20 points, nine rebounds and nine assists.
And Todd Withers (16 points, five rebounds) does the sneaky good stuff which is not always recorded.
Power forward Darnell Cowart was a menace in the paint. He top-scored for the Hawks with 24 points and nabbed 10 rebounds.
Cliffton Bush III collected a double-double of 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Ball and Campbell Scott were threatening from range with 19 points apiece. Carey did not allow Ball much space, though.
The Hawks started by draining a wide-open three.
That was a problem for the Nuggets in their last outing.
They fell off too many defensive assignments out wide.
But the shots were dropping at the other end, though.
Withers drained a couple of triples. Perez and Carey got themselves to the free throw line — Carey went 11 from 11 from the stripe.
Carey stuck another three-pointer to help the Nuggets open up to 34-21 at the first break.
Cowart muscled to the hoop for a couple of buckets to cut into the Nuggets’ lead.
Withers came up empty from a couple of three-point attempts.
But Ball stuck a triple for the Hawks and two charging calls against Perez enabled the home team to take a few more bites out of the lead.
Cowart took over in the paint and he was pumped up too.
Perhaps he was still fizzing from the one-handed slam, or maybe it was the putback.
Either way, he forced his will on the quarter.
Scott nailed his fifth three-pointer of the game and the Hawks trailed by two at halftime. They had clawed their way back into the contest.
The Nuggets responded well. Carey posted an open look from range. Perez finished off a fast break and Darcy Knox made a lay-up.
The game found another gear suddenly. Dunks got traded. Threes got traded.
And-1s got traded.
And the Nuggets traded up to a nine-point lead.
Most of that margin disappeared fast, though.
The Hawks put on 11 unanswered points and the game was in the balance with three minutes remaining.
But the Nuggets pulled away thanks to Carey. He got the hoop for two and speared in a three-pointer.
And Withers, who had a tough shooting night, made a crucial three down the stretch to help clinch the victory.
The Nuggets dispatched the Hawks 38-23 in the Rapid League game.
In the NBL match on Thursday night, the Wellington Saints edged the Nelson Giants 94-86.
NBL
The scores
Otago Nuggets 93 (Don Carey jun 34, Jose Perez 20)
Hawke’s Bay Hawks 86 (Darnell Cowart 24, Jackson Ball 19, Campbell Scott 19)
Quarter scores: 34-21, 49-47, 73-64
