Cairns Taipans have produced a memorable New Year's Eve performance, recovering from 18 points down in the fourth quarter to complete a remarkable 86-83 comeback victory over Adelaide 36ers.
With injured star Keanu Pinder on the sidelines, the Taipans stunned the Sixers at Cairns Convention Centre on Saturday to equal the largest final-quarter comeback in the NBL's 40-minute era - matching the record set by Adelaide against the Sydney Kings in 2015.
Former Kings import Ian Clark appeared to put Adelaide in an unassailable position when his three-pointer handed the Sixers a 78-60 advantage nearing the midway point of the fourth quarter but Cairns stormed home with a 26-5 charge.
DJ Hogg's layup with just over a minute to play put Cairns in front 82-80, but Clark regained the lead for Adelaide with a triple before Shannon Scott capped a career-high scoring night with the go-ahead three-pointer with 30 seconds to play.
Clark then missed a game-tying mid-range jumper and Tahjere McCall made one of two free throws to put Cairns ahead by three. Robert Franks was unable to send the game into overtime with a last-gasp triple.
Scott finished with 31 points on 11-of-15 shooting, including 5-of-7 from three-point range, to help boost the Taipans' offence with Pinder sidelined and Hogg impacted with foul trouble.
"That's just our team - one band, one sound. Everybody plays their role until it's time for them to get in the game and do what they do," McCall told ESPN about Scott's impact on the game.
"Shannon came up big, somebody's always gonna step up for us. That's how teams win. There's no one person, there's the team so that's big for us."
McCall added 19 points and five assists as the Taipans (11-7) ended a two-game losing skid to move within half a game of second-placed New Zealand on the ladder.
Adelaide led by 10 points in the second quarter but the Taipans launched a 16-0 scoring run to hit the front and secure a narrow 41-40 edge at halftime, Scott compiling 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting, including a perfect 4-of-4 from long distance.
The Sixers dominated the third quarter as Anthony Drmic and Daniel Johnson helped the visitors outscore Cairns 24-13 and head into the final stanza with a handy 64-54 advantage.
But after a 14-6 start to the fourth quarter, Adelaide imploded to see their four-game winning streak end in spectacular fashion.
Antonius Cleveland scored a team-high 16 points, Clark finished with 15 in 18 minutes and Drmic added 14 but it was not enough as Adelaide missed the chance to rise above Cairns into fourth spot on the ladder, instead dropping to seventh with a 10-9 record.
