That was five of their top eight players and they didn’t have the depth to cover their absence, especially in the forwards, as the Temara brothers, Daniels and McKinlay were all the Jets’ big men. McKinlay dislocated his knee and Shane Temara badly sprained his ankle in the first-round game against the Saints. Temara’s appendix later burst and he required two operations. He should be out of hospital in the next week. Coach Tim McTamney bemoaned the injury toll. “The schedule to start the season really hurt us. We came right and started playing very well. Then of course that Saints game – two major injuries in the first half and after that an injury every week from then.
12:22, Jul 12 2021
PHOTOSPORT
Jayden Bezzant was in top scoring form against the Wellington Saints on Saturday. PHOTOSPORT
BASKETBALL: The Wellington Saints have already booked their ticket to the NBL final four, but they are now just one win away from locking in the top spot after scoring an impressive 103-80 win over the Manawatū Jets. The Jets showed some good signs early and really came out in an attacking frame of mind in the game at the Arena on Saturday night, but it didn t take long for the visiting Saints to find their groove, and their stroke from beyond the arc.
It was hoped Shane Temara would return from his ankle injury soon and his presence would be a boost when the Jets host the Auckland Huskies on Sunday. While it still looks to be a rough road to finish the year, if they can reproduce the performance from the Rams game in their last four games of the season, they will be more than competitive. Guard Daishon Knight led the way in both games at the weekend, but he went big against the Rams with a triple double, scoring 30 points to go with 16 rebounds and 11 assists. Nikau McCullough put in his best performance, scoring a career-high 25 points, and DeAndre Daniels scored 22 points.
There was a good crowd, but there was little atmosphere until the final quarter, when the Jets were rallying. Like a week ago, when they came from behind to beat the Mountain Airs, the Jets looked good to start the game, but let Southland take the lead, and it wasn’t until the second half before the Jets attempted a fightback. Southland had led 59-49 and when they were up 73-56 at the start of the second half, it looked ominous for the Jets. Manawatū guard Daishon Knight sparked a revival and they closed the game to four points in the fourth quarter, with Southland leading 79-75, but Southland’s Brayden Inger iced a three to kill the Jets’ momentum.