Basketball: Harbour chase finals spot as Saints crash

North Harbour continued their march towards national basketball league honours, effectively weakening Wellington Saints' final playoff chances after a resounding 107-89 drubbing in Wellington yesterday.

The Harbour Kings capitalised on an impatient offensive and a soft defence from Wellington and built on a 58-52 lead at halftime.

Harbour scored from all areas and, with eight wins from 10 games, have emerged as contenders for the league title, to be decided on their home court on August 12.

They lead the table on 16 points, two clear of Waikato and Nelson, but with one more game played.

Harbour's American forward, Purnell Perry, played an outstanding game, scoring 44 points. Robert Wilson was the top rebounder with 15, and also had four steals.

Kirk Penney scored 18 from 28 minutes on the court.

Terrence Lewis was on 34 points for Wellington. Next best was Peter Pokai on 13.

Harbour coach Tracy Carpenter said strong defence was the story of their success. He was pleased with the way the team had progressed.

"We are a much better team and we are more focused since we were beaten by Canterbury last month," he said.

The Rebel Sport Auckland magic returned in Christchurch, with the team demolishing the Canterbury Rams 82-48.

Showing the outstanding defensive pattern that has taken them to four NBL titles in the last five years, Auckland shut down Canterbury in the second half, scoring 47 points to Canterbury's 16.

Pero Cameron and Paul Henare made a welcome return after their stint for the Tall Blacks in Australia, both scoring 10 points for Auckland. Their efforts were backed by Mason Le Pou, top on 17 points, and Matt Barnett scoring 16.

Alex Lopez led Canterbury's dismal performance with 10.

Buoyed by his pre-Olympics play in Sydney, Tony Rampton set a career high of 29 points to help the Nelson Giants stay top of the ladder with Waikato and North Harbour.

Nelson, with a home court victory of 130-110, left Palmerston North no chance of a finals spot.

Damon Johnson slotted in 25 for Nelson and James Hamilton 23, while Rick Randall top-scored for Palmerston North with 35.

Waikato had to call on their experience to hold out a spirited Hawkes Bay team in Hastings. From 91-all midway through the final quarter, Waikato eased out over the final six minutes to win 130-108. Tony Brown scored 32 points and Clifton Bush 25 for Waikato, while Troy Coleman gave Hawkes Bay 30.