KEY POINTS:
Waikato Pistons extended their lead in the National Basketball League and Harbour Heat were the big movers over a weekend of double-headers.
The Heat (9-5) moved into second place after backing up Friday night's win over Nelson Giants with a 96-81 victory over Manawatu Jets (3-8) in Palmerston North last night.
The Heat led 31-20 after a blistering first quarter and were never headed despite a Jets third-quarter comeback.
On Friday night, the Heat, led by 19 points from Behrendorff and 18 by Daryl Cartwright, shrugged off the absence of injured import Oscar Foreman to down the Giants.
Tall Blacks sharpshooter Phill Jones was unable to reproduce that dazzling form that saw him score a game-high 33 points in the Giants' victory over the Stars on Thursday night. Jones managed just 13 points as the Giants (8-5) went down 75-64 in a low scoring contest. The defeat meant the Giants split their two-game Auckland tour to fall to fourth.
The back-to-back victories were a welcome tonic for the Heat, who had a lacklustre defeat at home to Auckland Stars last week.
Wellington Saints (8-4) saw off the Bay Hawkes 94-89 in the match of the round in the capital on Saturday to stay third. Both sides had five players in double figures as the Saints held off a late charge from the fifth-placed Hawkes (7-4) to maintain their unbeaten home record.
The Pistons (10-2) had an untroubled swing through the lower South Island with victories over Canterbury Rams (3-10) and Otago Nuggets (2-11).
Their import duo of Brian Wethers and Jason Crowe were imperious, combining for 55 points against the Rams and 48 against the Nuggets. Wethers top scored with 35 in the 83-77 victory over the Rams, and Crowe led the team with 28 against the Nuggets.
The big losers of the round were the Stars (6-6) and Taranaki (5-6), who appear locked in a battle for the sixth and final playoff spot. Both lost at home on Thursday night, with the Stars going down to Nelson and Taranaki copping a 21-point thrashing at the hands of the Hawkes.
