KEY POINTS:
Harbour Heat will again look to their bench as they continue their hunt for home court advantage in the playoffs against Manawatu tomorrow.
With four games remaining the Heat (9-5) are third on the NBL ladder, two points behind a Wellington Saints team that extended its home record to 8-0 with a resounding 107-87 win over Nelson on Thursday night.
With former Auckland Stars point guard Lindsay Tait making his debut for the Saints in that win, they appear to have the most balanced roster in the competition and they have a relatively easy run in, with Auckland their only opponent still in the playoff hunt.
The top two teams receive a bye into the second round of the expanded six-team playoffs and earn home advantage for a one-off semifinal.
The Heat kept alive their slim hopes of snaring second behind runaway leaders Waikato Pistons (12-2) with a double-header sweep over Nelson (8-6) and Manawatu (3-9) last weekend.
Their 75-64 victory over the Giants was particularly impressive given the absence of injured import Oscar Foreman and key guard Hayden Allen.
The Heat will again be short-handed when they take on Manawatu in the return match tomorrow. Allen has recovered from the illness that kept him out of the Nelson match but Foreman has been joined on the injured list by 200-gamer Darryl Cartwright.
Their performances last weekend, however, showed the Heat don't lack resilience.
"It was an awesome performance from the boys and a couple of people I've spoken to said it was the best game we've put together all season," Allen said of the victory over Nelson. "Hopefully we can keep it going. We've got four more games left and if we can capitalise on the ones we should win and maybe push Waikato to the limit, I think we'll be all right."
The Heat have also needed to bounce back from disappointment this season, most notably after two defeats to cross-town rivals the Stars.
Just two weeks ago it was the Heat who looked the spent force and the Stars (6-6) who seemed resurgent when Auckland scored a crushing 96-81 derby win on the North Shore. But the Heat have bounced back, while the Stars lost their way badly when Adrian Majstrovich pulled out shortly before last Thursday's defeat by Nelson.
"Fortunately we pulled finger in the last couple of games," Allen said. "Everyone had a good look at themselves and saw what their role in the team was."
The Heat may be looking up the table but they will also be throwing the odd nervous glance over their shoulder, where Nelson and Hawkes Bay (7-5) lead the chasing pack.
The Hawkes should notch another win when they travel to Otago Nuggets (2-12) today.
The Stars are also in action tonight, hosting Manawatu.
The final match of the round sees Waikato take on Taranaki (5-6) in New Plymouth tomorrow afternoon.
