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The Sydney Kings produced a stellar final quarter to take down the Cairns Taipans 86-78 at the Cairns Convention Centre last night.
Sydney trailed by eight heading into the last term, before Josh Powell’s 11 points helped them outscore Cairns by 31-15 in the fourth.
The win handed the Kings a 3-1 series win over the Taipans, their second secured split in as many games, and keeps them at the top of the NBL table with a 10-6 record.
It will go down as one of their bravest wins of the year, as the team trailed by as much as 15 points midway through the third quarter, before an Andrew Gaze timeout prompted a much needed 11-4 run to close out the term and give them belief heading into the last.
The fourth quarter was an intense struggle, with the Kings chipping away at the lead, but the Taipans always producing an answer. A three-pointer to Travis Trice at the halfway mark helped stretch the lead back out to five, but it was all Sydney from there.
Import Greg Whittington produced a number of big plays when it mattered, including a three-pointer to bring the margin back to two, and a breakaway dunk to give the Kings their first lead since the first quarter.
A 11-0 run saw the Kings take a 79-73 lead with just over two minutes to play, a bridge that proved too far for the home side to cross.
Kings coach Andrew Gaze was delighted with the win and the heart that his troops showed.
“I’m really proud of our guys because we lost our way there for a bit,” he said.
“At times our defence was good and we were getting beaten on second chances. Offensively we were getting some good looks but the ball wasn’t dropping for us.
“We were down by 15 and we needed to change, so we went to a zone. We got it back to eight, so I thought we had a fighting chance.
“And then in that last quarter, we were really aggressive and got into the bonus early. When it got close, they made some uncharacteristic turnovers that helped us.
“It’s a big win for us in the context of the season, not just because of the comeback that we had, but who we made the comeback against, and the talent they have, and where we made the comeback in an environment where not many people win.”
The loss was just the Taipans second at home this season, and ends a five-game losing streak at the venue for the Kings.
As has been the case for the majority of the season, a number of players stepped up and contributed for the visitors.
Kevin Lisch produced another captain’s display, scoring 18 points along with seven rebounds and five assists, including six points in the final quarter.
Brad Newley top-scored for the Kings with 20 (9-10 FT), while Greg Whittington had 14 (6-10 FG) as well as two steals.
Josh Powell produced one of his finest performances in a Kings jersey, finishing with 17 points (6-13 FG) and four rebounds, including a big fourth quarter.
Aleks Maric was efficient in his 18 minutes of court-time, producing 10 points (4-5 FG) and seven rebounds, while Jason Cadee shrugged off a poor shooting night (0-5 FG) to finish with five points, six rebounds, four assists and four steals.
For the home side, it was a vintage performance from Mark Worthington, dropping a game-high 22 points (7-14 FG), six rebounds and four assists to turn back the clock.
Nate Jawai had another strong night with 13 points (5-6 FG) and five rebounds, before being controversially fouled out in the fourth.
Scores remained close for the opening minutes of the first quarter, before it was Worthington that set the Cairns Convention Centre on fire. He scored 11 of his team’s first 17 points, and was largely responsible for the Taipans heading into the first break with a 26-16 lead.
The game threatened to get away from the Kings during the second quarter, when Jawai stretched the lead out to 12, before back-to-back triples from Newley and Lisch helped reduce the margin to six. The Kings couldn’t get closer than that though, as the Taipans maintained their composure to finish the half with a 45-38 lead.
The margin got as close as four early in the third after a Newley jump-shot, but from that point on, the Taipans went into overdrive. A Cam Gliddon triple sparked an 11-0 run for the home side, highlighted by two outstanding alley-oop plays from Travis Trice to Jawai.
The Kings head home on Sunday to face Melbourne United in a re-match of their thrilling encounter just a fortnight ago.
Cairns have to wait until Monday night for their next game, when they host the Adelaide 36ers, who are low-flying at the moment.
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