Basketball: Tall Blacks surge after England skipper sent to bench

A moment of ill-discipline by England captain Steve Bucknall provided a turning point as New Zealand went one-up in their three-test men's basketball series with an 81-65 win in Nelson yesterday.

There was little between the teams in the first half and the Tall Blacks held a slender six-point lead when Bucknall drove to the basket five minutes into the second half.

The English captain claimed he had been fouled, but the call went against him and his reaction drew a technical foul from referee Stan Battock.

That gave New Zealand four free-throw attempts, converted by Chris Tupu, setting the Tall Blacks on a game-changing 19-7 run.

English coach Lazslo Nemeth was loathe to criticise the officials after the game, but said the calls against Bucknall were "hard to understand."

"We are not looking for excuses. I will let you make your own judgment, but let's say that call did not help."

New Zealand, with centre Rob Hickey and guard Phil Jones finding their range early, got away to a solid start, were reined in, then traded baskets with the tourists until a Paul Henare three-pointer gave them a 41-37 lead at the break.

The second half was basket-for-basket again until Bucknall's indiscretion. With their captain on the bench, England floundered, allowing veteran Peter Pokai four hoops in a row as NZ went 16 points clear.

They were able to preserve that buffer through the final 10 minutes, although debutant Julius Joseph made some spectacular plays for England.

Best of the Tall Blacks were Hickey, Brad Riley and Henare, while the improved form of power forwards Pokai and Pero Cameron bodes well for the Sydney Olympics.

The series continues in Wellington tonight and ends in Hamilton on Wednesday.

- NZPA