It was by no means poetry-in-motion stuff but acrobatic passes on the lines and Taranaki import Kenny Gabriel's slam dunks thrilled the half-full PG Arena.
The Hawks set the tone in the first quarter but the sides went into the locker rooms tied 42-42 at halftime.
A flurry of three-point trade-offs between Taranaki captain Jack Leasure and small forward Ethan Rusbatch and Hawks guards Alonzo Burton and Dion Prewster was the highlight in the third spell.
After Friday night's 69-64 loss to Waikato Pistons in Hamilton, coach Tab Baldwin had bemoaned his troops' inability to play for each other more.
Winitana said that was always a major clause in the Hawks' constitution but this season they hadn't clicked.
"Tonight it just came in waves with no one just standing out throughout the game although I don't know what the box scores show," he said, highlighting the clutch three-point shots from several players, including bench guard Ezra Nikora.
He praised import forward Darko Cohadarevic's inside presence, plus his nine points and as many rebounds, to draw the Taranaki defence out.
"We wanted it [the win] way more than Taranaki so we weren't going to let that one go tonight."
The Hawks host playoff contenders Nelson Giants this Saturday and will assume the mantle of spoilers.
"We're not trying to spoil anyone's season but just simply trying to finish off [with wins]," Winitana said.
"It's been a tough year so right now we just want to finish on a good note."
The whole season to date, he said, was a shocker so they were hoping to win the next two games for their fans and sponsors.
"We're grateful to the faithful few who turned out tonight so we really appreciate it ... we owe it to them."
The Hawks arrived at 1am on Saturday from Hamilton, had a walk through PG Arena at 11.30am and held a meeting at 2.30pm before the 7pm tip off.
"It was a full-on day but it's worth it when you see that 86-79 score."
Naki coach David Bublitz said their strategy was to get the ball in the paint - which they did with aplomb.
The visitors also shot better percentage from the floor and outside the arc.
They had more points off the bench, more second-chance points and more points from the paint.
However, the Hawks eclipsed them from the charity line with 24 from 29 attempts while the visitors nailed nine from 18 attempts, a disparity that had Bublitz scratching his head.
"When Darko jumps on one of my player's back and the ref tells me there was no contact then, yeah, I'd say some of the calls didn't go our way."
He felt the refs had a little too much influence in the third quarter but lauded them for their control in the first half.
He couldn't reconcile a 9-2 foul count in the third spell, four of them against them in a shade less than two minutes.
"Again a couple of ticky-tack calls that probably weren't calls and then we get hammered down the other end for whatever reasons.
"I'm not blaming the refs, who saw it differently, but I thought there was a lot of contact our end which we didn't get so they got away with quite a bit and we didn't get away with much," he lamented, although the signs were ominous when bench player Sid Adams peeled off his warm-up T-shirt in the first quarter only to find he didn't have his game singlet on underneath.
Adams eventually fetched the locker room keys to complete the ensemble but there was another calamitous indicator - the scoreboard read 130-26 in favour of the Hawks two minutes into the second spell.
Taranaki play leaders Otago Nuggets and Waitakere Rangers next.
Having missed the playoffs, Bublitz said they wanted to finish above the Hawks.
"We've got the wood on them [Hawks] anyway because we beat them by 15 and they beat us tonight by seven points."
