They beat the Hawke's Bay Hawks 91-80 in their National Basketball League first round playoff match in Auckland tonight.
It leaves them to face the Nelson Giants in Friday's semifinal.
While there were moments of brilliance on offence, it was the Nuggets' ability to shut down a dangerous scoring Hawks team that won this one.
Todd Withers was exceptional all night in that regard, taking the Hawks out of what they were looking for.
His impact went far beyond his three points and five rebounds.
At the other end it was Tray Boyd and Keith Williams that did the damage, while Nikau McCullough came up with a handful of big shots in the fourth quarter.
Boyd top-scored with 30 points on 11-of-17 shooting, while Keith Williams added 24.
The Nuggets took the lead midway through the first quarter and, while the Hawks never let them get away, they fought and ground their way to stay in front.
They led 22-15 at the end of the first quarter, holding that at 42-35 at halftime.
The Nuggets extended that out to double-digits early in the fourth quarter, getting the stops they needed to close out the win.
See tomorrow's Otago Daily Times for more.
