Wellington were always behind in the asking rate and, despite some hope being offered by Grant Elliott's 36 from 18 balls, the 23 runs needed from the final over proved too tough a task.
In Hamilton, Canterbury's total of 184-8 was more than they may have expected after the initial stages, with Brent Arnel dismissing both openers to reduce the Wizards to 37-2 in the fifth over.
With Canterbury on 79-4 at the halfway stage, ND would have fancied their chances of restricting their opponents to a sub-standard total. But the partnership between Tom Latham and Brendon Diamanti swung the match and saw the visitors pile on more than 100 runs from the final 10 overs.
The pair put on 70 for the fifth wicket with Latham especially aggressive, eventually falling one short of his highest score by making 52 from 29 balls.
Arnel's 4-22 made him the pick of the bowlers while Daryl Tuffey, playing his first match for the Knights after five years in Auckland, chipped in with a wicket despite looking a short of a gallop.
In reply, regular wickets hampered the home side's chase, with their biggest partnership of the match a 37-run stand for the ninth wicket. Some late hitting from tailenders Jono Boult and Anurag Verma pulled ND close before in the final overs, but they eventually fell eight runs short.
