KEY POINTS:
The hardest part should be over for Nelson, who on Thursday grabbed a crucial 1-0 lead in the National Basketball League's finals series.
Nelson beat Hawke's Bay in Napier and now head for the comforts of home and the second game of the best-of-three series tonight.
Reigning champions Hawke's Bay have yet to get the better of Nelson this season, two defeats in the regular season and last night's result leaving them with a huge challenge just to force the series into a decider tomorrow night.
Hawke's Bay will also have to do it without Australian import Andrew Rice, who is heading home to Perth today to comfort his ill mother.
In a scrappy, low scoring affair often so typical of finals basketball, Hawke's Bay's main threats imposed themselves early.
Livewire guards Paul Henare and Paora Winitana helped them to a 15-13 lead by the end of the first quarter by which stage the home team forced six fouls under the basket and landed five of the free throws.
Hawke's Bay muscled up under the boards, but Nelson were not flash offensively and opted to shoot from distance in the first half, although that didn't work too well as they converted just two-from-nine from beyond the arc up to the break.
A cold Hawke's Bay were worse, landing none-from-five. Once Nelson found their range, they gained momentum.
Nelson went into the break 31-26 ahead.
Ed Book, 37, who is retiring after the series, as always read the game intelligently and led his team's scorers at intermission with 10 points.
Despite the extra attention, he continued to contribute after the resumption and ended with 18 points, but it was brief spurt from Mika Vukona which enabled Nelson to steal a decisive break late in the third quarter.
Vukona ended with a double/double of 15 points and 16 rebounds in a dominating display.
- NZPA
