Sluggish Saints finally find groove

It’s taken eight rounds, but the Wellington Saints are finally showing signs of life in the National Basketball League.

After getting off to a poor start for the second straight season, the Saints have shown glimpses of their best over the past week.

Saturday’s 91-84 win over the Canterbury Rams in the capital was a much-needed one for the 12-time champions. They hadn’t strung together back-to-back wins in 2023 until now after opening the season with three straight losses and beginning 1-4.

The win over the Rams followed on from an impressive 100-84 victory over the Southland Sharks last Sunday, lifting the Saints to a 4-5 record. It’s small steps in the right direction for the perennial powerhouse, but they still have some way to go if they want to be viewed as genuine title contenders.

The Saints have certainly put the rest of the NBL on notice. When they are dialled in at both ends of the floor and attack the rim, scoring 50 points in the paint against the Rams, good things can happen.

Standout Australian guard Kyle Adnam was at the heart of the Saints’ win, contributing 21 points and 10 assists. Tom Vodanovich, Marlon Taylor, and Tohi Smith

Milner all had double-doubles, combining for 41 points and 30 rebounds.

The Saints led from start to finish with their lead growing to 16 points in the second quarter. Can

terbury never went away though. They were right in the contest with five minutes to go when a Kaia Isaac triple levelled the score at 82-82.

The Saints responded with a 9-0

run with a Taylor three proving a key moment. Canterbury still split their away doubleheader after thumping the Taranaki Airs 103-74 in New Plymouth on Thursday behind a game-high 26 points and 11 boards from US forward Troy Baxter Jr.

The Hawke’s Bay Hawks got their campaign back on track with a confidence-boosting pair of wins on their South Island road trip.

They knocked over the leagueleading Otago Nuggets 95-94 on Friday in Dunedin, who were without leading American guard JaQuori McLaughlin. Hawke’s Bay backed it up with an emphatic 106-87 victory over the Southland Sharks 24 hours later in Invercargill. American forward Ira Lee was the Hawks’ hero against the Nuggets, hitting the gamewinning basket with 2.9 seconds left to put them ahead by one.

Against the Sharks, it was much smoother with the Hawks in control for virtually the entire contest. They made a scorching start, exploding for 40 points in the first quarter and were ahead by 15 at halftime, leading 60-45.

Tall Blacks’ World Cup hopeful Jordan Ngatai torched the Sharks for a game-high 27 points on 10-17 shooting.

Six Hawks scored in double figures with Jordan Hunt (19 points, seven rebounds), Hyrum Harris (20 points, five rebounds, four assists) and Lee (13 points, 10 rebounds) standing out. The Hawks shot a red-hot 59% from the floor (40/67) and 48% from three point land, draining 17 threes.