The high-flying Mike Pero Nelson Giants continued their sensational season with another resounding win over the Manawatu Jets on Friday night.
The Giants fell just short of a third consecutive century as they comprehensively outclassed the Jets 96-80.
A key man once again for the Giants was Australian shooting guard Damon Heuir, who finished with 14 points, nine assists and three rebounds.
Damon, who plays for the Cairns Taipan in the Australian NBL, says they were made to work hard for the win. “They hung in there and scrapped and clawed, so full credit to them.”
Damon says consistency will be key if the Giants are to be a title threat at the business end of the season.
“We had a patch in the middle where we struggled a bit, but we got things going again towards the end. We’ve shown in patches that we are a really good side,” Damon says. “So it will just be about limiting the time we go to sleep on defence.”
“We know we’ve got a good team, it’s all on the defensive end, we’ve got enough fire power to put up 100 points which is enough to win games in this league, but it’s just about playing defence.”
The shooting guard says the team culture the franchise has developed this season is “awesome.”
“Jamie and Bill [Dahlberg] have done a really good job putting a good team on the floor and it’s a great group of guys, everyone gets along, so it makes coming to work every day really easy.”
Damon says he is relishing his time in the region.
“I’m loving it here, I’ve done a bit of exploring and it’s beautiful. It’s just starting to get a bit cold for me, coming from Cairns, so just trying to stay warm.”
He wants to continue to put in solid performances on the court in hopes of returning to Nelson in 2019.
“We’ll see how the rest of the season goes and if they want me back.”
Damon says winning a championship remains his primary focus.
Tohi Smith-Milner was another standout for the home side, scoring 21 points and grabbing 13 rebounds.
Nelson return to Trafalgar Centre on Thursday night to take on the Canterbury Rams, the only side to have beaten the Giants at home this season. Tip off at 7pm.
