NBL: Hawks grab two wins in a weekend as roof leak halts victory stroll

Former Taylor Hawks captain Jarrod Kenny, seen here in action for the Taipans, is back on court for the Hawke's Bay team. Photo / Getty

The brilliant, the not so bad, and the downright bizarre.

The Taylor Hawks are riding high after experiencing four seasons in one weekend in the Sal's New Zealand National Basketball League.

They won a thriller 86-82 against the Wellington Saints at home on Friday night.

The team had been bolstered by former captain Jarrod Kenny's return from Australia in what was their biggest game of the year to date.

Wellington had been top of the ladder with former Hawks coach Zico Coronel guiding a star-studded lineup to eight wins in nine games with league-best performances on both offence and defence.

However, the Hawks arguably have even more talent than the 2019 NBL champions.

The Hawks' talent had got them four straight wins to open their campaign before sloppy defensive habits, injuries to Derone Raukawa, Ethan Rusbatch and Devondrick Walker, and the absences of Rhys Vague, Jordan Hunt and Kenny took their toll for three losses in a row.

With head coach Jacob Chance still in Australia due to his Perth Wildcats role, lead assistant and caretaker Kaine Hokianga has got things back on track.

And a short drive and a short turnaround to Manawatu to play the Jets on Sunday afternoon didn't faze the Taylor Hawks in the slightest as they notched their fourth straight win.

The Hawks led in Palmerston North by 89-61 with 2m 24s to go in the fourth quarter when the downright bizarre came into play.

Central Energy Trust Arena, hit by rain throughout the day, started leaking, forcing play to come to an abrupt halt, before the game was called off for safety reasons and the victory given to the Hawks.