Knights 150-9 in 20 overs (Corey Anderson 42, Jacob Duffy 2-18) lost to Otago Volts 151-5 in 18.5 overs (Hamish Rutherford 49, Ben Cox 32) by five wickets at Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui.
The Knights confirmed their spot at the top of the Burger King Supers Smash table, and booked a Hamilton home final despite losing to the Volts, who finish the season in fourth place on the table.
The Volts executed a suffocating performance in the field, preventing the Knights from putting any real partnerships together.
On an evening with some assistance for the bowlers through the air and off the pitch, the Volts took full advantage, with Nathan Smith removing Nick Kelly in the third, caught by Jacob Duffy at mid on for 13.
Dean Brownlie (20) went just when he'd played himself in, edging Michael Rippon to Ben Cox after putting on 45 with Corey Anderson. Coming in at fourth wicket, Anderson started carefully, but soon freed the arms, hitting some huge sixes into the Bay Oval crowd. Just when he was looking to really cut loose and lift his team to a big total, he mistimed Anaru Kitchen and was caught by Neil Broom for 42, with the Knights on 106-5.
Kyle Abbott and Neil Wagner showed their experience at the end of the innings, taking some crucial boundaries to lift the home team to 150-9.
The Volts would need to chase that total in 45 balls to hand the Aces top spot on net run rate, but this wasn't to be. Lead by Hamish Rutherford (49), the Volts put a controlled chase together in the face of some tight bowling.
After losing his opening partner due to a mix up between wickets, Rutherford showed tremendous application and proper cricket shots to reach 49 before misjudging a Kyle Abbot bouncer, which he edged through to the keeper.
Ben Cox (32*) and Brad Wilson (25*) kept their cool at the close to get the win by five wickets for the visitors to end their season on a high.