Phill Jones' timing is impeccable.

After misfiring for most of the night with his usually lethal left hand, Jones, captain of the Fico Finance Nelson Giants, dropped two three-pointers and a short-range jumper to pull the home side to a comfortable nine-point lead heading into the final minutes against the Wellington Saints on Saturday night.

Jones' heroics and the dominance of rebound king Mika Vukona were enough for the Giants to win 92-86 in their first home game of the Bartercard national basketball league season at the Trafalgar Centre.

Jones may not have been his usual accurate self, landing only seven from 20 field goals, but coach Chris Tupu was under no illusions about the influence of his skipper.

"I thought Phill showed good leadership; stats aside, he got some pressure baskets at crucial times. That's what I expect from him – he's a world-class player, and I thought his leadership tonight wasn't just him shooting the ball but passing it around. He was spot on tonight," Tupu said.

While Jones finished the job, it was two returning heroes from the Giants' 2007 championship-winning season, Mike Fitchett and Vukona, who kept the Giants in the game. The latter dominated the glass, especially during the first half, and Fitchett sank two momentum-swinging three-pointers in the final stretch.

Recalling his last trip to the Trafalgar Centre during last season's finals, Fitchett – who broke Nelson hearts by helping Waikato win the championship in a best-of-three final series – said he was happy to be on back in the blue singlet of his home town. "It's awesome to be back home, I love this crowd and it's nice to have them on my side again," he said.

While the finish had enough excitement to send the fans home happy, it was a poor first quarter from all 10 starting players as they struggled to put the ball through the hoop.

Both sides earned their first points from the free-throw line, Nelson needing more than three minutes to do so. Tony Rampton found favour with the supporters early, though, shooting back-to-back three-pointers midway through the opening quarter.

While the players struggled to shake off the rust at the "hangar", the Wannabes, the Giants' supporters club, were in fine form and played their part in the win, reminding Casey Frank early on that his name wasn't exclusively for those of his gender, singing Happy Birthday to Nelson guard Josh Bloxham and tormenting the referees.

But as poorly as the Giants started the game, they finished the half on a high, with Vukona slamming home a dunk in the final seconds before racing up court and grabbing a rebound to give his team the first double-digit lead of the game at 44-34.

Then the dreaded second-half slump struck. The Giants paid a costly price for loose defending around the three-point line and Saints forward Erron Maxey made them pay, sinking four shots for the maximum, bringing Wellington level with their hosts at 51 points. At the other end of the court the Giants had a serious case of bad hoop karma. The ball just wouldn't drop for the locals, bouncing around the hoop and backboard before falling into the arms of a Saints player half a dozen times in the quarter. Somehow, the home side carried a two-point lead into the final 10 minutes of the game.

It was then that the magic of Fitchett, the work rate of Vukona and the experience of Jones clicked into gear for the Giants, pushing them to their second win of the season, 92-86. Another player of considerable merit was American forward Michael Harrison, who imposed himself in the paint and brought the crowd to their feet in the fourth quarter with a spectacular alley-oop courtesy of a Fitchett inbound pass. Harrison ended the game with 22 points and 10 rebounds.

Tupu said the win was a true team effort, and praised his charges for remaining composed after being drummed 27-19 in the third quarter. "Maxey made some big shots, and it was a bit concerning that we didn't cover the three-point line as well as we should have in that third quarter, but he made some tough shots.

"I was very pleased to see the guys off the bench chipping in when they come in, right down to Sam Dempster and Josh Bloxham – those guys are key for us.

"Everybody stepped up at different times, and that's what we need. We can't rely on one player here or there – we need everybody chipping in, and I think we saw that tonight."

Vukona, fresh from his commitments with the Australian NBL, said he was happy to be back in Nelson after spending the 2009 New Zealand season with the North Harbour Heat. "It's definitely awesome being back. It's a whole new stadium but the crowd is still the same, still raucous. I had two weeks off before I came here but I felt good and still have plenty more to come," he said.

The Giants will be looking for their third straight win, after dropping the season opener, against the reinstated Otago Nuggets in Nelson this Friday night.