Defending champions Saints lose again in NBL

These are unusual old times for the Wellington Saints.

The 12-time National Basketball League champions and last year’s title-winners find themselves in an 0-2 hole after the opening two rounds of the season.

A week after the ‘Baby Saints’ – missing most of their rotation players – were thumped 117-81 by the Southland Sharks, the Saints fell again, losing 83-61 to the Otago Nuggets in Dunedin on Saturday.

Wellington were boosted by American point guardMike Smith and leading Kiwis Taane Samuel and

Jordan Ngatai, but it still wasn’t enough to propel them to their first win.

Homegrown centre SamTimmins was impressive for the Nuggets in the win, notching a game-high 26 points on 13-18 shooting.

Last season’s beaten finalists, the Hawks, banked their first win after an opening round loss, overcoming Taranaki 93-77 on Thursday.

The newly-minted Auckland Tuatara improved to 2-0, toppling the Nelson Giants 86-77 in Nelson.

Big men Rob Loe (23 points and 12 rebounds) and Chris Johnson (19 points, 15 rebounds and five assists) were outstanding for Auckland, causing problems at both ends of the court.

The Franklin Bulls moved to 2-0 after pipping the Southland Sharks 79-75 in a close finish in Pukekohe on Saturday.

NBL veteran Leon Henry, who debuted in 2004, was critical in the final stages, knocking down a key three-pointer to put the Bulls ahead, followed by a layup.

In yesterday’s games, the Tuatara improved to 3-0 with a convincing 84-56 win over the Canterbury Rams on the road in Christchurch. Johnson and Loe were again a force, combining for 42 points and 27 rebounds.

Southland rebounded from their loss to the Bulls, thumping the winless Jets 97-78 in Palmerston North.