A trademark pressure fourth quarter by the Waikato Titans smothered a valiant assault by Auckland, and helped them march into the national league final against Wellington Saints.
After Auckland had led for most of the game, Waikato came with a rattle in the final four minutes to win 93-88. Wellington eased
past Nelson Giants 98-88 in the other semifinal to set up the Mystery Creek final next Saturday.
Waikato coach Jeff Green was full of praise for the Auckland style of play.
There was no mystery to Auckland's start, shots connected with Mason LePou and Aaron Olson scoring from the outside and Ben Pepper controlling under the post giving them a 14-point lead midway through the first quarter.
But Clifton Bush, the season's NBL star, lifted his tempo for the Titans with a couple of steals and three quick baskets to bring narrow the gap to 45-49 at halftime.
The turning point for Waikato came with a spectacular three-pointer from Prem Krishna, which put Waikato 79-76 ahead. Tall Blacks captain Pero Cameron, with 24 points, Bush (23) and George Le'afa (19) made the difference. Pepper had a game-high 28 points for Auckland.
