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The Cairns Taipans have snapped a three-game NBL losing streak with a clinical 102-94 road victory over Brisbane in the first Queensland derby of the season.
Undermanned and put on blast by their coach to play hungrier and with more determination this week, the Taipans (3-4) had all the answers for the Bullets (4-7) as Bul Kuol hit eight of his ten three-point attempts at Nissan Arena on Saturday afternoon.
The rookie of the year front runner was aggressive and electric from beyond the arc, nailing eight of the Taipans’ 13 attempts from deep, finishing with a equal game-high 26 points with teammate Majok Deng.
The Taipans registered their highest points total of the season while also snapping a five-game losing streak to their Queensland rivals.
“No pun intended, but he’s taken the bull by the horns,” Taipans coach Adam Forde said after Kuol’s sharpshooting clinic.
(Photo by Albert Perez/Getty Images)
“He’s been fantastic, it was only a matter of time that he’s going to have the offensive game that he did.
“What’s been real positive is him defensively. You know him harassing (Jason) Cadee in the full court, and then you switch him out on to (Lamar) Paterson and then he switches out and he’s battling the bigs in the post.
“He’s such a good dude, I’m so happy that we got him on our team.”
Forde’s side started the game strong putting up 30 points in the opening quarter before the Bullets rallied from 13 down, going on a 18-7 run to end the half tied 53-all.
Brisbane then led 69-67 midway through the third quarter, bringing the crowd back into the contest, but Kuol and Deng had other ideas as their tandem scoring propelled the visitors to their fourth win of the season.
“I’m probably most disappointed about – like when I came here, teams that play defence make playoffs and win consistently,” Bullets coach James Duncan said.
“That’s just the bottom line.
“And if you give up 102 points, that’s just not getting it done.”
Duncan, in his first year with the Bullets, added they failed to capitalise on a string of home games but all is still to play for this season.
“We need to take care of ourselves and focus in on what we do well, and try to eliminate some of our mistakes.”
© AAP
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