KEY POINTS:
All eyes will be on the Waikato Pistons this weekend as the NBL leaders put their undefeated record on the line in Nelson and Wellington.
In a round that features no shortage of potential mismatches, such as tonight's clash at ASB Stadium between the third-placed Auckland Stars (5-3) and second-bottom Canterbury Rams (1-5), the Pistons road double-header stands out as the feature of the round.
Waikato have hardly been pushed in compiling their 6-0 record but that could change on Saturday against a Nelson side still smarting from a fourth quarter reversal at home to Harbour Heat last weekend.
The fourth-placed Heat (4-3) host the Rams tomorrow night in what should be a straightforward affair.
Heat chief executive John Hunt said his team should have emerged from last week's double-header with two victories after they were robbed by a time-keeping error in Wellington.
Centre Tim Behrendorff missed a free throw that could have put the Heat four points clear but his miss allowed Troy McLean to tie the match with a three after the Saints in-bounded the ball with just 0.4s on the clock.
Hunt said the Heat had reviewed footage of the match and believed McLean handled the ball for at least a second, meaning the shot should have been ruled out. Instead Saints went on to win the game 105-100 in overtime.
"The boys are adamant that you can't score a shot like that in that period of time," Hunt said.
"We did complain but it fell on deaf ears and really the referees are the final arbiter of what happens."
In other round seven matches, the second-placed Saints (5-3) host Taranaki (4-4) and Hawkes Bay (2-3) look to get their season back on track against basement side Otago Nuggets (1-6) tomorrow night. The Nuggets then back up against Manawatu (2-4) on Saturday. Sunday sees Waikato take on Saints in the capital in the second match of their double-header.
