VICTORY continued to be elusive for the Wellington Saints as they suffered a 106-91 loss to the Auckland Tuatara on Monday in the 2022 New Zealand NBL season at TSB Arena.
Ken Tuffin went scoreless as he missed all of his four shots, including a 0-of-3 clip from downtown, alongside his four rebounds and three assists as the defending champions continued their inauspicious start at 0-3.
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Michael Smith paced Wellington with 29 points on a 6-of-12 shooting from rainbow country, and made seven assists, as Taane Samuel got 23 points and five rebounds in the loss.
Francis Mulvihill and Jordan Ngatai also had 11 for the Saints in this tough home debut.
Wellington faces the Canterbury Rams on Sunday.
Auckland was led by Chris Johnson with 27 points, 17 boards, and five assists, as Rob Loe had 24 points, 10 rebounds, and seven dimes as the Tuatara went up to 4-0.
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