Jinxed Cairns guard Scott Machado's NBL future appears in doubt, while the Tasmania JackJumpers' finals dream remains alive after they defeated the valiant Taipans 87-80 in Hobart.
The Taipans controlled the first half on Friday night before completely losing their way from the moment star import Machado suffered a nasty injury to his left heel midway through the third term.
The JackJumpers' commanded that quarter 26-10 to turn a nine-point halftime deficit into a seven-point three-quarter time lead.
An emotional Cairns coach Adam Forde admitted his team became unnerved when Machado, hampered by a heel injury all season after injuring it in round two, went down in obvious pain while clutching his left foot, before finishing the match on crutches.
New York-born Machado, selected in the All-NBL First Team in his 2020 debut campaign, turns 32 in June and his immediate and long-term future is in jeopardy.
"Scott going down rattled the whole group, myself included," Forde said.
"It took us a while to regroup from that.
"I called a time-out and when I was thinking about my message going into the time-out, I looked over and Scott was in a lot of discomfort.
"I wasn't prepared for it.
"It's been a tough year for him."
Jack McVeigh (16 points, eight rebounds) exploded in the JackJumpers' match-turning third term, while Taipans man mountain Nathan Jawai fought off a sore right shoulder to muscle a game-high 17 points in 16 minutes.
Jawai and Bul Kuol were instrumental in Cairns, riding a three-game winning streak, turning a 22-19 quarter-time edge into a 49-40 halftime lead, before McVeigh rifled seven points inside the first two minutes of the third stanza to close the gap.
Tassie import Josh Adams, in the space of 20 seconds, stepped back for a three, produced a steal and then finished on the break over Machado, who landed badly, to give the JackJumpers the lead.
Their offensive rebounding immense, Tasmania went on a 14-0 tear as the Snakes, without their floor general, fell away.
They continued to fight, though, and had reduced the margin to three points when JackJumpers veteran Jarrad Weeks drilled a three - his third of the fourth quarter - to deny his old side.
"Our conversation at halftime was that we were not ourselves," JackJumpers coach Scott Roth said.
"Our aggression level, toughness and everything we hang our hat on all year needed to appear in the second half.
"Everyone stepped up to the plate and played their roles."
