The Taranaki Mountain Airs breathed fresh air into their National Basketball League campaign by upsetting the Auckland Pirates.

They out-hustled the northerners under the offensive basket to post an important 96-92 victory in Auckland, just their third victory in 13 games but one which gives them a theoretical chance of earning a top-six playoffs berth.

Taranaki started much the stronger as they sped out to an early 16-4 lead and remained in front at the end of each quarter as Auckland suffered a loss which left them with no hope of qualifying for the playoffs.

The visitors were superbly served by Jack Leasure, a shooting guard who contributed 31 points, well above his league-leading points average of 21.9.

Arguably his most crucial play came 27 seconds before the final whistle when a clutch three-pointer lifted him above 30 points and gave his side a two-point advantage after Auckland made a concerted run at Taranaki in the last quarter.

Auckland nudged in front for the first time at 80-79 with just over six minutes remaining but Taranaki held their ground and reasserted themselves on the backs of Leasure and American import Marcus Campbell.

The league's biggest man at 2.14m, the bearded Campbell was equally big in the value he added to his team, 21 points nicely complemented by 13 rebounds as he dominated under the basket.

Veteran Dillon Boucher tried his best for Auckland with 16 points, eight rebounds and six assists while his team's scoring chart was led by Kevin Smith with 19.