The Saints put on a show
The Wellington Saints put in a perfect performance ahead of the NBL play-offs as they hammered the Franklin Bulls 125-65 in their final match of the regular season.
The @saintsbasketball take another dub on the road with a massive 29/53 (54%) from deep 🤯🔥
Onto the next, the boys take on @auckland_huskies tomorrow night, make sure to tune in and head to Eventfinda Stadium! #wellingtonsaints #saintsfamily #salsnbl pic.twitter.com/7U8Gxxyfdk
— Saints Basketball (@saintswgtn) July 16, 2021
The Saints racked up 29 triples – a season high – as they put on a show against the Bulls to win their 15th game of the season.
It was an ominous performance from Zico Coronel’s side, who sent a message to their play-off rivals that they are the team to beat.
They face Auckland Huskies on Saturday in their last match before the decisive play-offs.
The Bulls finish the season with only five wins from 18 games.
The match
The visitors took control from the outset and never let go. They led 38-15 at the end of the first quarter with 11 triples.
Roared on by a fervent home crowd, the Bulls fought back in the second quarter and won the quarter, 22-21.
But the margin was still a considerable 22 points at the halfway stage and the Saints asserted their dominance with a clinical third quarter.
The final quarter was brutal from the Saints, who won it by 46-11.
The stats
As a team, they were ruthless with their three-pointers, making 29 out of 53 – a strike rate of 54%.
Between Kenneth Tuffin and Tobi Smith-Milner, they made all nine of their three-point attempts.
Here is a shot chart, provided by FIBA LiveStats showing Tuffin’s unerring accuracy from behind the arc.
It was a top performance from the Wellington side. The pick of the bunch on the day was Kerwin Roach, who scored 29 points, seven assists and five rebounds.
Leon Henry was also influential, scoring 24 points, including seven three-pointers.
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