Giants fall short to top-of-table Rams

Kobe Langley's best performance of the season wasn't enough to get the NBS Nelson Giants over the line after a dramatic finish.

Despite 32 points and six assists, the team fell short to the top-of-the-table Canterbury Rams in a  97-95 loss at the Trafalgar Centre.

With the game going down to the wire, it was a tough loss against a strong side as the Giants rallied to give themselves a winning chance late in the game.

A strong fourth-quarter performance set up some tense final minutes as the Giants looked to claw their way back into the game on the back of Kobe's performance.

He was always the man who was going to have the ball in his hands at the death and he had the chance to tie the game with less than 10 seconds on the clock when he was fouled and awarded three free throws.

But, missing his second, the Giants were still down and had to foul to give themselves on final possession with Kobe unsuccessfully looking to lob it in from halfway to snatch a win.

Having made clutch three-pointers at the death of the opening three quarters of the game, he stepped up to lead the team with his offence in a way that he hadn't before.

Despite the Giants taking the lead going into the first-quarter break, the team fell behind in the second quarter and were never able to get themselves ahead again.

Every time the Giants looked to be rallying with a run of points, the Rams would quickly answer back with a three-pointer of their own to keep themselves ahead.

And with Alex McNaught going down injured and not even able to put weight on his leg as he was helped from the court just eight minutes into the game it looked like it was going to be an uphill battle.

Miraculously, he was able to return to the game to play a handy 25 minutes, with Theo Akwuba's 12 minutes being the least of the starters.

The big man again struggled with foul trouble, earning two early as the Canterbury big men put him to the test under the rim.

It was an extremely physical game from both sides, with the referees keeping their whistles in their pockets and letting the boys play some basketball.

Daniel Grida, finishing with 21 points and nine rebounds had a strong performance, but sometimes struggled with trying to do too much as he looked to create a spark for his team.

With his big brother in the stands, Dan Fotu's 21 points were also a strong contribution as he looks to put his hand up for Tall Blacks selection after injuries have struck the squad.

Despite the result, the Hangar was in celebration mode as it celebrated three decades since the Giants' 1994 championship with a '90s night.

With members of that championship-winning squad in attendance, the team wore a special kit to honour the franchise's first-ever title.