Taipans Beat Kings in Dramatic Game 2 in Cairns

Saturday, February 18, 2023

The Cairns Taipans set it up with their three-point shooting but it was their defensive intensity and ability to push the pace that was key to beating the Sydney Kings 93-82 in a spiteful encounter to force their Playoffs Series to a Game 3.

The Cairns Taipans set it up with their three-point shooting but it was their defensive intensity and ability to push the pace that was key to beating the Sydney Kings 93-82 in a spiteful encounter to force their Playoffs Series to a Game 3.

The Snakes started strongly and remained in charge virtually the whole night at Cairns Convention Centre but it was a Friday evening full of drama all the same to set up a mouth watering Game 3 on Sunday back in Sydney.

By the end of the evening, the Taipans had put together a terrific performance to win by 11 with coach Adam Forde using just seven players with Shannon Scott out with a sore hamstring and only Ben Ayre and Lat Mayen getting on from the bench.

Up the other end, the Kings finished the game with coach Chase Buford having been ejected in a frantic last couple of minutes which included Kouat Noi leaving with a bloodied nose on a play where he was called for a flop.

To top it off, the Kings played most of the second half minus MVP Xavier Cooks with a rolled ankle.

The Snakes brought the energy from the outset. This time 10 points in the opening quarter from Lat Mayen helped them take control and by half-time their lead was out to 11.

The third quarter saw the Taipans break the game further open with an 11-0 run. With the Kings losing Cooks to a rolled ankle at the same time and with the Orange Army behind them, the Snakes weren’t going to be denied.

They would lead by as much as 21 before going on to win by 11 to force a deciding Game 3 back at Qudos Bank Arena on Sunday with the winner to advance to the Championship Series.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">TOUGH BUCKET FROM ?<br><br>? <a href="https://twitter.com/CairnsTaipans?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@cairnstaipans</a> | ? <a href="https://twitter.com/espn?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@espn</a> <a href="https://t.co/blORRJQnPH">pic.twitter.com/blORRJQnPH</a></p>— Cairns Taipans (@CairnsTaipans) <a href="https://twitter.com/CairnsTaipans/status/1626528113520951302?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 17, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

DJ Hogg once again top-scored for the Snakes with 25 points, eight rebounds and four assists including knocking down 4/8 from long-range.

Tahjere McCall returned with 20 points, seven assists, four rebounds and three steals with Sam Waardenburg contributing 15 points, 10 boards and three huge blocks, Ben Ayre 12 points, Lat Mayen 12 points and six rebounds, and Bul Kuol nine points, three rebounds and two steals.

Taipans coach Adam Forde was understandably delighted with his team's response.

"We got the win so we extend it out to a Game 3 and that was important for us," Forde said.

"You know, I've got to credit the guys because this is four games in eight days and it wasn’t a friendly film session this morning. But this is how they respond, we always tend to do a good job of bouncing back and we were disappointing in Sydney.

"The crazy thing was and this is what we highlighted, we were still only down four with a minute to go and we highlighted at least 21 deficiencies on our ends both on the offence and defence.

"To come out and make that adjustment was massive. Tahj was massive, I mean for him to come out and defy doctor's orders is just what this team is. They're gritty, they're tough and they know what's on the line. So I'm very happy."

Derrick Walton Jr tried to inspire the Kings in the second half and finished with 22 points and six assists with Justin Simon contributing 19 points, 10 rebounds and three steals, and Kouat Noi 12 points and four boards.

Kings coach Chase Buford gave credit to Cairns as he tried to digest the crazy finish to the game.

"We're very disappointed. Credit to Cairns, they kicked our arse," Buford said.

"From the opening tip, they played with more juice, they played with a desperation like their season was on the line and we didn’t match it.

"So that's super disappointing. I'm proud of the way the group fought back in the second half, I thought we really turned up the defence and guarded them for the first 18 minutes or so of the second half.

"We gave ourselves chances, we just couldn’t make free-throws or layups to keep the run going. Full credit to Cairns, they just came and punked us today."

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">This isn't over ?<br><br>Watch the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBLFinals?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBLFinals</a> Live & free on ESPN via Kayo Freebies ? <a href="https://t.co/zNYEYJslz3">pic.twitter.com/zNYEYJslz3</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1626526756093165568?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 17, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

It was Sam Waardenburg who helped Cairns out to the hot start with the game's first five points. The Snakes would lead 7-0 and then 10-4 when Waardenburg landed his second three ball to have eight of those first 10 points.

Sydney did fire back with the next six points to level scores up with Justin Simon delivering six of those 10 points for the Kings, but it was then Lat Mayen's chance to shine.

Just like Jonah Antonio did in the first half on Wednesday, Mayen caught fire the rest of the opening quarter for the Snakes. The rookie forward delivered 10 points on 3/4 shooting in the last five minutes of the quarter to help the Snakes to the 27-19 lead at quarter-time topped off with Tahjere McCall scoring on the buzzer.

McCall then also opened the scoring in the second quarter and when Ben Ayre added five quick points including a three, in the space of a minute the Snakes were up by 15 and Chase Buford had to burn a timeout.

The Taipans would end up leading by 16 shortly after but the Kings were staying in touch thanks to their own three-point makes by Jaylin Galloway, Derrick Walton Jr, Simon and Angus Glover.

Galloway and Simon also hit Oh tanother each before half-time, but the Taipans had all the answers in the opening half to remain on top 54-41 this time with McCall landing another from beyond the arc to go into the break.

The Taipans blew the game wide open during the third quarter going on a run of scoring 11 straight points. It began with a triple from Hogg, included an alley-oop throwdown by Waardenburg and that pushed the lead for the home team out to 21 points.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">TAHJERE THROWS IT UP TO SAM, SAM THROWS IT DOWN!!! ??<br><br>? <a href="https://twitter.com/SamWaardenburg?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SamWaardenburg</a> | ? <a href="https://twitter.com/espn?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@espn</a> <a href="https://t.co/7NuPVdETEc">pic.twitter.com/7NuPVdETEc</a></p>— Cairns Taipans (@CairnsTaipans) <a href="https://twitter.com/CairnsTaipans/status/1626520513232375808?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 17, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Sydney did respond with the next seven points and tempers began to flare, but the Taipans remained in control leading 70-54 at three quarter-time.

Sydney did threaten on a few occasions in the fourth quarter to get close enough to make things interesting, but couldn’t quite with the Taipans having all the answers.

That didn’t stop the drama though. With Buford ejected, Noi leaving with a bloodied nose and then even a heavy collision running back down the floor where Tim Soares sent Waardenburg to the floor.

To say it's all set up for quite the spectacle on Sunday for Game 3 is an understatement.

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL FINALS – PLAYOFFS SERIES 2, GAME 2

CAIRNS TAIPANS 93 (Hogg 25, McCall 20, Waardenburg 15)

SYDNEY KINGS 82 (Walton Jr 22, Simon 19, Noi 12)

BOX SCORE