McVeigh shoots Snakes to home opening win

The Cairns Taipans gave up a 12-point fourth-quarter lead but a trademark Jack McVeigh three-pointer late in his first home game helped the Snakes hold out the Brisbane Bullets for the 83-82 victory.

The Taipans led 74-62 with less than seven minutes remaining in Friday night's match at the Cairns Convention Centre before the Bullets hit back hard to snatch the lead with less than two minutes to go.

McVeigh gave the hosts back the lead with a clutch three-pointer, but then controversy hit.

The Bullets were handed possession from a jump ball decision despite Brisbane guard Jaylen Adams connecting with McVeigh's head with his shoulder while the Snakes star was sitting on the ball.

The possession arrow was in favour of Brisbane so once the jump ball decision was confirmed and a foul wasn't called, it meant Brisbane who were down by a point at the time, had 10 seconds to find the winning shot.

Javon Freeman-Liberty looked set to get the job done as he drove to an open hoop, but he was rejected at the last moment while rolling his ankle in the process.

Then on the next possession, Freeman-Liberty's last-gasp floater just rimmed out before the buzzer sounded.

McVeigh, whose two-year deal is believed to be worth $2 million, was worth every cent of his contract on the way to 19 points, nine rebounds and nine assists on top of that late three-pointer.

The win was crucial for the Taipans after they opened their season with a horror 114-77 loss to South East Melbourne.

New Taipans import point guard Andrew Andrews, who only arrived from Portland days earlier, missed his first eight shots before finding some form on the way to eight points with four assists in his 27 minutes.

Admiral Schofield (19 points) was big for the Taipans, while Marcus Lee scored 12 points but was ill disciplined on the way to fouling out midway through the final quarter leaving the Snakes having to dig deep to limit Bullets centre Tyrell Harrison.

Harrison finished with 22 points and seven rebounds for the Bullets on 9/11 field goal shooting while Freeman-Liberty finished with 21 points, seven rebounds and five assists, Casey Prather 18 points, four boards and four assists, and Adams 12 points and six assists.

The Bullets stunk it up from three-point land, nailing just 2/19 for the night while also losing defensive maestro Sam McDaniel early to an ankle injury while already missing captain Mitch Norton.

Cairns overcame an early deficit to lead 21-17 by quarter-time, and they led by 10 points late in the second term following some tough work from McVeigh.

Brisbane went on a 8-2 run to end the quarter to close the gap back to four points at half-time.

Cairns, with Andrews stone cold, looked bereft of answers as the Bullets made a barnstorming start to the third quarter to hit the lead.

But after missing his first eight shots, Andrews suddenly caught fire. He swished a three-pointer to spark a flurry to finish the third quarter.

And by the time Andrews nailed his second triple early in the fourth, the Taipans were out to an 11-point lead, which soon became 12.

Brisbane hit back hard, but the leadership of McVeigh ensured Cairns got over the line.

Both teams are back in action on the road on Sunday afternoon against teams playing their first games of NBL26 in front of their waiting home fans.

That will see the Bullets face Bryce Cotton and the Adelaide 36ers with the Taipans to take on Kendric Davis, Matthew Dellavedova and the Sydney Kings.

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL SEASON 2025/26

CAIRNS TAIPANS 83 (McVeigh 19, Schofield 19, Lee 12)

BRISBANE BULLETS 82 (Harrison 22, Freeman-Liberty 21, Prather 18)

BOX SCORE