Taipans Soar Over Phoenix Late

The Cairns Taipans saved their best for last on Saturday to turn a 10-point deficit into a nine-point road victory to remain unbeaten to start NBL23 with the 85-76 victory over the South East Melbourne Phoenix.

It was a battle of nerves at John Cain Arena on Saturday afternoon, as the Phoenix and Taipans combined for a season-high 46 turnovers in a game where they were both trying to find their groove.

Despite the continued absence of Zhou Qi, Ryan Broekhoff, Gary Browne and Trey Kell, the Phoenix were on top most of the way including holding a 10-point edge a minute into the fourth quarter.

However, from there the Taipans reeled the hosts back in and took over the contest.

The 10-2 run came via a wave of emotional play, as Keanu Pinder reignited after a quiet couple of quarters. His dunk with 1:40 to go punctuated a stirring victory, taking the Taipans to a seven-point lead just minutes after being down 10.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">THE SNAKESHOW ?<br><br>The <a href="https://twitter.com/CairnsTaipans?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CairnsTaipans</a> are flying home in the 4th!<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL23?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL23</a> live on ESPN + Kayo Sports <a href="https://t.co/jgC934WycR">pic.twitter.com/jgC934WycR</a></p>&mdash; The NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1578662930878328832?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 8, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Pinder, last season’s Most Improved Player, was electric early. He put the Phoenix on notice with a highlight reel dunk in the opening minutes, and scored his team’s first six points of the match. The 26-year-old finished with 19 points and eight rebounds. 

As the Phoenix were riddled with errors early, including an uncharacteristic seven turnovers from captain Kyle Adnam, it was up to Mitch Creek to put the team on his back, and he very nearly took South East Melbourne over the line. 

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Mitch Creek with the golden touch as he goes for 16 points (8/10 FG) leading all scoring in the ball game at the half.<br><br>But it&#39;s the <a href="https://twitter.com/CairnsTaipans?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CairnsTaipans</a> with the 41-43 lead over the <a href="https://twitter.com/SEMelbPhoenix?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SEMelbPhoenix</a> at the break. <br><br>WATCH <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NBL</a> NOW ON ESPN <a href="https://t.co/vj2g5gj0NL">pic.twitter.com/vj2g5gj0NL</a></p>&mdash; ESPN Australia &amp; NZ (@ESPNAusNZ) <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNAusNZ/status/1578649680191229953?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 8, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Creek put the heat on himself following a down performance against the Illawarra Hawks, but followed up that 12-point effort with a more forceful display here. 

He had the Phoenix’s opening bucket of the game, and didn’t let up from there. In the first half alone he had 16 points on 8/10 shooting from the field. In the end, he finished with 27 points and four rebounds. 

Another bright spot was the effort from new import Alan Williams, who was dominant at times in the post on his way to an 18-point, eight-rebound game. But from there, the positives mostly came from a collection of Taipans who didn’t say die. 

Phoenix coach Simon Mitchell couldn’t fault his team's effort considering their personnel situation.

"Pleased with seven eighths of it. We’re going to break it down, watch it," Mitchell said.

"I think they were just out on their feet. It looked like we were in the last round of a heavyweight fight and we just struggled to get out for that 15th round. 

"I thought there was a tremendously courage performance… I mean, Creeky wasn’t going to play. He was struggling. The bravery they showed was immense. 

"We get some fresh bodies back this week though and a bit of time on the court. We need fresh bodies. Fatigued kicked in."

DJ Hogg continues to impress following a 17-point showing in the win over the Illawarra Hawks. The Columbus-born Hogg poured in 18 points for the Taipans. 

Tahjere McCall was one of the main offenders in the turnover department, but his 15 points came at critical moments, when the Phoenix threatened to pull away. 

Taipans coach Adam Forde has full faith in his group and while they might have not lit it up like they did against the JackJumpers, to win any way they can is a significant positive.

"We know what we recruited for. We're going to have games like tonight where the floodlights don't open up and we go: 'Hey, that was a struggle.' I don't care if we lose the last 26 games in a row, I know this group will fight hard. And that's a really special group to have," Forde said.

"I have extreme confidence in this group. Whether it was warranted or not. I'll go 0-28 with this group because it will be the best season that I've had. Just to be able to get these wins as ugly and weird as it is. There was a moment with a timeout with eight minutes and you're down 10. Plenty of time left."

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">SC?TT.<br><br>The <a href="https://twitter.com/CairnsTaipans?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CairnsTaipans</a> backup floor general is keeping the Snakes right in this thing <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL23?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL23</a> live on ESPN + Kayo Sports <a href="https://t.co/kp4em66ovw">pic.twitter.com/kp4em66ovw</a></p>&mdash; The NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1578660783147216896?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 8, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Most pleasing for Forde is that this win snaps a nine-game losing streak at John Cain Arena, and it is the kind of win that sets a strong tone for the team going forward. 

They faced challenges in this game, both self-inflicted and from performances like from Creek, but emerged victorious.

For Simon Mitchell, he’ll be buoyed by the fact that the cavalry is coming for the Phoenix. As for Adam Forde? He’ll take the W. 

The Taipans head straight home for their first game of the season at Cairns Convention Centre on Monday up against the Perth Wildcats.

The Phoenix enjoy a week-long break before hosting the New Zealand Breakers next Saturday.

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL ROUND 2

SOUTH EAST MELBOURNE PHOENIX 76 (Creek 27, Williams 18, Madut 12)
CAIRNS TAIPANS 85 (Pinder 19, Hogg 18, Scott 15, McCall 15)

BOX SCORE