The Night 'n Day Otago Nuggets have won their third straight game with an 83-66 win over the EnviroNZ Franklin Bulls on Friday night.
Nuggets guard Nikau McCullough was on fire from the get go, amassing 24 points in the first half on 10-of-12 shooting from the field and 4-of-6 from three. McCullough looked comfortable from the tip-off in a familiar arena, having played for the Bulls back in 2020. He would finish with a game-high 29 points on 12-of-19 shooting from the field and 5-of-8 from three.
The Bulls showed some fight in the second half, going on an 11-0 run to cut the deficit to 11 in the fourth. However, the Nuggets proved too strong and were able to close it out down the stretch. Their big first half caused too much of a hill to climb for the Bulls, who looked outmatched for much of the outing and lacked consistent energy to make a good run at the Nuggets.
Isaac Davidson turned in a solid outing for the Bulls with 16 points and four 3-pointers. Anzac Rissetto, Denhym Brooke and Jayden Bezzant all managed double figures, too. Bezzant left late in the fourth quarter with what appeared to be an ankle issue, so that's worth keeping an eye on moving forward for the Bulls' leading scorer.
The Nuggets head to Manawatu on Sunday for a duel with the Jets, while the Bulls have the battle of the bridge in their sights next week.
SCORE: Bulls 66, Nuggets 83
Bulls: Davidson 16 PTS, 4 3PT | Rissetto 10 PTS, 6 REB | Bezzant 12 PTS
Nuggets: McCullough 29 PTS, 5 REB, 3 STL, 5-of-8 3PT | McCall 12 PTS, 4 3PT | Williams 11 PTS
Full box score HERE.
Stuff MVP Votes
Nikau McCullough (Nuggets) - 10 votes
Isaac Davidson (Bulls) - 7 votes
Tahjere McCall (Nuggets) - 5 votes
Sam Timms (Nuggets) - 3 votes
Jayden Bezzant (Bulls) - 3 votes
Todd Withers (Nuggets) - 2 votes
Upcoming Opponents
Bulls - May 28 @ Auckland Tuatara
Nuggets - May 22 @ Manawatu Jets
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Round 4 Sal's NBL Schedule
