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Live sport on SN this weekendTaipans win NBL thriller over Breakers
Steve Barrett, AAP • October 25th, 2026 7:11 pm
The Breakers' Carlin Davison missed two late chances to send the game into overtime | Photo: Chris Kidd/AAP
Carlin Davison has missed two tough shots at the death, allowing the Cairns Taipans to escape with a nail-biting 86-84 NBL win over the New Zealand Breakers.
With NZ down by two at the Cairns Convention Centre on Sunday, Davison stole the ball from Taipan Jonah Bolden and sprinted down the floor.
He narrowly missed a tough left-handed drive to level the scores, then, after Mojave King snared the offensive rebound, Davison couldn't get enough on an under-pressure long shot in the final second.
Jack McVeigh scored 18 points for Cairns, while Jaylin Galloway also had 18 in his first game for the Taipans, who leapfrogged NZ and Brisbane into fourth.
Jack McVeigh | Photo: Lukas Coch/AAP
Sam Mennenga (22 points) and Charles Bediako (15 points, 10 rebounds) were the Breakers' best, while Parker Jackson-Cartwright (14 points, nine assists) made a promising return from injury.
The Breakers led 25-16 at quarter-time after finishing the term with an 11-2 rush.
Galloway piloted an 8-0 start to the second term as the Taipans closed the gap to 25-24.
But then Mennenga went to work, pouring in 15 second-quarter points to push NZ's advantage out to 46-39 at halftime.
The Breakers drilled 8-of-12 three-pointers in that first half, with Mennenga leading the way with 4-of-6.
NZ's buffer was out to 54-43 before Cairns rallied to close the third period, with McVeigh leading the charge as the home side trimmed the margin to 62-60 at three-quarter-time.
The Taipans carried that momentum into the final term, which started with a free throw from McVeigh after Davison received a technical at the break.
Keanu Pinder, battling flu symptoms, hit a three to give Cairns the lead, then followed it by swatting Mennenga at the other end.
When Reyne Smith buried back-to-back triples to cap an 11-0 run, the Taipans suddenly led 72-65.
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