Melbourne United sent a scare through the rest of the NBL landscape with a monster third quarter effort to lift them over the Cairns Taipans in a Halloween special in Far North Queensland.
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After the Snakes came out firing early to take the lead, United rose from the dead after half time at Cairns Convention Centre.
After trailing 54-51 at the main break, United broke out in the third term, outscoring the hosts 34-19 to take a commanding double-digit lead into the final term.
Cole Anthony drove Melbourne’s offence as both a shooter and distributor, finishing with 25 points, seven rebounds, four assists and four steals.
He also had a spicy message for the referees after the game.
Meanwhile, Josh Oduro set the pace in the scoring department.
This deadly combination resulted in a whopping 20 points for United in just the final five minutes of the quarter.
It was also a happy homecoming for former Taipans club MVP Sam Waardenburg.
While not one of United’s key scorers, he made critical plays on defence and in rebounding.
The Taipans tried to send a late shudder through the visiting side with some desperate defensive efforts that helped close the margin to single digits in the fourth quarter.
It’s a critical win for Jacob Chance’s group, who would have been in danger of losing pace with the top six had they fallen to 4-6 on the season.
Now at 5-5 and with the likes of Anthony, Joe Ingles and Waardenburg getting more and more integrated into their group, the perennial championship contenders could well be poised to emerge as the season approaches its midway point.
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STARS COLLIDE
It was a Freddy vs Jason like battle between Cairns’ superstar Jack McVeigh and his opposite number Anthony.
The pair traded buckets throughout the contest, with McVeigh taking on a higher scoring load than he has typically carried so far this season.
He did enough to keep the Taipans in it early with some support from Keanu Pinder, but ultimately their lack of reliable scoring options came back to bite Adam Forde’s side.
Jaylin Galloway managed just six minutes as he continues his comeback from injury, which is surely a development to watch for Cairns.
SHOOTING HORRORS
Prior to Saturday night, Cairns Convention Centre had been a haunted house for any and all visitors who stepped foot in the Taipans’ domain, with their raucous crowd lifting them to a 3-0 record at home to start the season.
United broke the curse in part due to the Snakes’ shooting woes, with McVeigh (2-7) and Reyne Smith (0-7) both struggling to take the lid of the basket.
It meant United didn’t often have to rely on their own sharpshooter Chris Goulding, who had a quiet night with just two made baskets.