Taipans fall short in Sydney

The CQUniversity Cairns Taipans started slow and remarkably made up for it over the course of the game, but it wasn’t enough to get the win over the Sydney Kings on Saturday night at Qudos Bank Arena, falling short 84-89 in another nail-biting affair.

The Taipans were boosted by the return of captain Scott Machado who sat out on Wednesday night, and Mojave King made the starting line-up for the second time straight. This was a new combination not yet seen this season, but the starters were sluggish out of the blocks and the Kings made them pay for it. The home team managed a quick 13-2 lead, forcing Head Coach Mike Kelly to call an early time-out.

Just a few days early, the Taipans had managed their best comeback under Coach Kelly after being down 16 points to go on to beat the Adelaide 36ers, so when Sydney extended their lead to 18 points in the first quarter, the Taipans had the confidence to take on the challenge.

Entering the second, the Taipans scored off their first two possessions, going on a 6-2 run in favour to claw back the deficit. Machado looked like he hadn’t missed a game, and back-to-back triples from the captain brought the team back within five.

It was Cameron Oliver that eventually got the Taipans in front, an incredible feat given the double-digit deficit in the previous quarter. Oliver was playing like a man on a mission and was chasing his fifth consecutive double-double for the first time in his NBL career. By the main break he was close enough, with nine points and seven rebounds to his name.

The Taipans and Kings have had some fascinating battles this season and this game was no exception, with Oliver finally getting the Taipans in front for the first time in the third quarter. He didn’t need the full 40 minutes to manage his fifth double-double, achieving his new record early in the third, as Jordan Ngatai got the hot hand and shot the ball well from range (four triples) as Nate Jawai continued to cause all kinds of trouble for the Kings in the paint.

It was 65-all heading into the final quarter and was set up to be a stunning affair, but the Taipans had Caspar Ware to contend with, who was having a career-best evening. In spite of his offensive performance, the Taipans still managed to keep it a two-point game with less than 30 seconds remaining before Ware notched 40 points and the home team sealed the game at the charity stripe.

Coach Kelly said that he was proud of how the team fought back from such a big deficit but the lack of energy and intensity at the start was unacceptable.

“We didn’t start with the energy we needed to be an NBL basketball team. Our defence was horrible, we were bad on offence and didn’t execute. We paid the price for that.

“Second half, we came to play and made some mistakes late. Sydney keeps going, then made some shots, we missed some. Then had a couple of turnovers late in the game that were important plays for us.”

Oliver dominated with 27 points and his equal career best of 19 boards, to go with a couple of assists, a steal and a block. Machado was strong in his return from a knee injury with 14 points and five assists, Ngatai also contributing 14 points. Tad Dufelmeier Jr. was effective again and contributed eight points, five assists and three rebounds, Jawai eight points, and Djeric four points and three boards on his birthday.

Sydney Kings 89 (Ware 40, Louzada 11, Vodanovich 9)
Cairns Taipans 84 (Oliver 27, Machado 14, Ngatai 14)

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