Some Beauden Barrett magic and a controversial but correct ruling of obstruction at a goal-line maul was enough for the All Blacks to beat England 24-17 to sweep the series at Eden Park on Saturday.
Again, the All Blacks struggled for fluidity, but in a dramatic final quarter, they turned around a 17-13 lead to the visitors to claim their win.
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However, they had to withstand scrutiny on full-time when England attempted to score through a lineout maul.
But in the act of breaking for the line, after joining the maul, second-five Ollie Lawrence was ruled to have obstructed the New Zealand defence, who had also managed to hold up hooker Jamie George to deny him a prospective match-levelling try.
England enjoyed a 63-37 possession advantage throughout the game, and it was only an 88 percent tackling effort that denied the English, who battered at New Zealand's ball.
Their only breaks were achieved by two cross kicks by first five-eighths Marcus Smith, firstly to left wing Immanuel Feyi-Waboso and then right wing Tommy Freeman.
But the All Blacks looked to use the ball through the hands, their first try coming after 10 minutes of speed, not all from the All Blacks when hooker Codie Taylor took a tap penalty.
The ball was moved left through three rucks before centre Rieko Ioane crashed down the blindside. The ball popped free in the tackle, and Tele'a swooped to score in the corner. McKenzie was not put off by the shot clock freezing and landed the conversion.
Beauden Barrett was on hand in the 61st minute as New Zealand gained quick ball from consecutive rucks. He took McKenzie's pass, speeding down the northern touchline and then fed Tele'a in for his second try.
The momentum had shifted, and Barrett continued to wield influence, falling his fingertips short of creating what would have been an unreal try when he showed soccer skills England would appreciate when chasing his own kick from deep.
The All Blacks upped the tempo by starting to run England's kicked ball back. Tele'a, Sevu Reece, and Jordie Barrett all ran with effect.
England was unable to cope and was caught offside in front of their posts, allowing McKenzie to extend the lead with a penalty goal in the 68th minute.
But as satisfying as the win was, there was also frustration from errors that could have netted greater rewards. The lineout again had issues, while incidents in the game in promising situations denied them impetus.
England enjoyed a territorial advantage of 62-38 in the first half, but many of their opportunities foundered as the All Blacks applied pressure at the base of the scrum.
First, Finlay Christie caught rival halfback Alex Mitchell behind the scrum; then, when they twice resorted to playing No8 Ben Earl on the break from the base, he was quickly contained.
But they were undaunted, and when hooker Codie Taylor infringed at a breakdown after the halftime hooter, England played on under advantage, and eventually another Smith kick to the corner was taken by wing Tommy Freeman to score, and with Smith's conversion, England claimed a 14-13 halftime lead.
New Zealand had their chances, the best of which was a breakout initiated by McKenzie taking an England kick deep in All Blacks' territory.
He linked with Tele'a, who found fullback Stephen Perofeta inside him. Passing back out, Tele'a made more ground, and his inside pass was taken by a desperate Smith to deny Perofeta the try.
However, New Zealand was still unable to take advantage. At a lineout penalty five metres from England's line, a mistake on the throw allowed Itoje to compensate and clear the line, eventually resulting in England scoring to claim the halftime lead.
They had run more metres and made more passes, but the All Blacks' defence was better, with a success rate of 89 percent to England's 75. And they conceded only one penalty to six by England.
The All Blacks are now 2-0 under new coach Scott Robertson and fly out to San Diego on Sunday to face Fiji next weekend.
New Zealand 24 (Mark Tele'a 2 tries; Damian McKenzie 2 con, 4 pen) England 17 (Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, Tommy Freeman tries; Marcus Smith 2 con, pen). HT: 13-14
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