Basketball: Tall Blacks lower boom on Aussies

Tall Black Paul Henare drives past Australian Boomer Luke Kendall. Phil Walter / Getty Images

New Zealand 72 Australia 53

A combination of bruising defence and Phill Jones' stunning shooting display saw New Zealand level the transtasman basketball series 1-1 after thumping Australia in Napier last night.

Written off by many, the Tall Blacks rebounded from their two-point extra time loss (79-81) in Wednesday's opening game to post their biggest winning margin over their arch-rivals, leaving the four-match series nicely poised ahead of Monday's clash in Hobart.

After struggling to land three-pointers two days ago, Jones set the Pettigrew Green Arena alight with a sparkling display.

The Nelson Giants sharp-shooter led all scorers with 28 points and nailed eight three-pointers as New Zealand outscored the visitors 17-9 in the fourth quarter.

They led throughout the match a held a 37-38 advantage at halftime.

Shooting guard Kirk Penney was a late omission after he suffered a groin strain in the first test, but that didn't derail New Zealand who ended a seven-match losing streak to Australia after vastly improving their shooting to 44 per cent last night compared with 35 per cent on Wednesday.

Guard Sam McKinnon top-scored for Australia with 13.

Bodies strewn across the floor was testament to a bruising game in which New Zealand hustled their bigger opponents and rarely conceded ground on defence.

The Tall Blacks paved their victory after surging to a 16-point lead midway through the third quarter as they steadied their counter-attack instead of rushing their shots - as they did in the first game.

Dillon Boucher, who missed the first match through injury, added steel to the Tall Blacks at both ends of the court, while producing his trademark steals.

Jones kick-started New Zealand's attack early, slotting a lay-up and two three-pointers and New Zealand raced to a 10-2 lead.

They had improved both speed and offensive intensity.

Tony Rampton inflated the score with four free-throws.

But turnovers, some classy assists under the hoop and a points burst from McKinnon saw Australia trim the deficit to 16-14 after the opening 10 minutes.

The arm-wrestle continued in the second quarter until debutant Ben Hill, son of legendary New Zealand player Stan, was introduced and he sparked immediately.

While conceding two personal fouls on defence, the Waikato forward drained a two-pointer with his second touch of the ball, then scored another five points in his three-minute spell.

That, combined with some rugged defence and with Jones landing a late shot from the arc, the Tall Blacks bolted to a nine-point lead at the break and looked to have the Australians rattled.

The hosts maintained their momentum and outscored the Boomers 18-16, with Aaron Olson contributing some crucial baskets.

Australia, however, kept in touch through McKinnon and guard Brad Newley who shot five from six three-pointers.

- NZPA