NBL: Adams, ‘Space Cam’ combine for 48, Kings sweep aside Taipans in thriller
Ice-cold Kings shooter Jaylen Adams and a returning Taipan stretched Cairns to nine-straight losses in a nailbiter.
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Ice-cold Kings shooter Jaylen Adams and a returning Taipan stretched Cairns to nine-straight losses in a 75-81 nailbiter.
It was a scrappy contest at the Cairns Convention Centre, with the Taipans searching to flip their rough season on its head following the FIBA break.
With the majority of their side now returned from injury and suspensions, the Taipans were searching for cohesion after using ten different starting line-ups to begin the season.
The energy was there from the tip-off with the starting five throwing their bodies on the line for rebounds, with Sam Waardenburg leading the way in the opening term.
The big man — who has been in fine form this season — snatched five offensive rebounds in the opening five minutes.
Despite the Snakes racking up offensive boards (14-2) and second-chance points (13-0), the Kings kept their composure, with the margin at 42-41 to close the half.
The Taipans’ offense went cold to start the third quarter, struggling to find the bottom of the basket for the first three and a half minutes.
They leaked four turnovers from the opening six possessions, while Kings gun Cameron Oliver shot out to 20 points.
The dynamic duo of Adams (22 points, six assists, and seven rebounds) and Oliver were devastating at times, with “Space Cam” throwing down a hammer to start the fourth quarter.
Former Sydney King Jackson Makoi began to emerge as a threat in the fourth with the game up for grabs, while Armstrong edged back to his best with 28 points, two steals, and three rebounds before Waardenburg’s night ended early due to injury.
However, the Kings were able to keep their cool late, with scoring machine Adams coming in clutch in the final minutes of the fourth quarter.
Fierce Third Quarter
The game took a turn to close the third quarter after Detroit deadeye Rob Edwards and New Zealand lockdown defender Izayah Le’afa got into a heated exchange.
Le’afa made the most of mild contact, crashing to the ground before his Kings teammates surrounded Edwards.
Taipans coach Adam Forde attempted to restrain Edwards, who is no stranger to fouling out, finishing two of the last three games early.
‘Space Cam’ and Kuol Return
A boatload of top talent walked out the door from Cairns in the off-season, but perhaps the biggest loss was the much-loved Bul Kuol.
After breaking out from being just a lockdown defender when he was crowned NBL22 Rookie of the Year, the 27-year-old became an effective sharpshooter and workhorse competitor, who would gladly play a full 40 minutes if foul trouble didn’t get in the way.
Switching to Sydney in the off-season, Kuol returned to the Snake Pit for the first time, notching seven points, three assists, and five rebounds.
Former Taipan Oliver (2019-21) was a force to be reckoned with, racking up 26 points, nine rebounds, and three blocks.
Taipans Dominate the Glass
Heading into Round 10, Cairns ranked tenth in the league for rebound percentage this season (47.8 per cent).
The Snakes clearly had a focus on fixing their offensive rebounding, finishing the game with 23 offensive rebounds to the Kings’ 10 (55-41 in total rebounds) with Taipans forward Akoldah Gak racking up eight rebounds (four offensive rebounds) from 22 minutes.
Waardenburg was also pivotal with Taipans coach Forde praising his ten rebounds.
“His absence (in the fourth quarter) hurt us,” Forde said.
“He set the tone, he’s a quiet leader for us, he shows by example and he’s a warrior. He travelled (with New Zealand) and played two games during FIBA. He came back Wednesday, it’s a factor, but it’s no different to everyone else who makes a commitment to the national team.”
However, shot selection and execution hurt the Snakes, with Taipans superstar Edwards off his game, finishing 4-19 from the field and 1-9 from behind the arc (10 points and two assists).
“(Edwards) had good looks and you don’t want to be dismissive of a missed shot as bad offense,” Forde said.
“We highlighted that at halftime. It was a bad night but I’m not going to start critiquing his shot selection when we were missing lay-ups. It was a bad night for him and we’ll move on and we expect another twenty-point game from him next week.”
“I think now we’re putting so much focus on getting the win rather than just playing to win - you get that with a young group, and we need a little bit of stability. I don’t think me yelling at them is going to fix it. We know what we’re doing wrong, and we know the areas we need to fix.”
Heading into Round 10, Rob Edwards ranked first among qualified players for three-pointers made per game (3.4) and second for points per game (20.5) this season.
Armstrong missing an open slam dunk late in the fourth quarter was almost a metaphor for the Taipans’ offense.
Despite having the chance to smash the score with 78 field goal attempts to the Kings’ 57, they just couldn’t capitalise - Taipans 22-78 FG to Kings 24-57 FG - on the opportunities.
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Originally published as NBL: Adams, ‘Space Cam’ combine for 48, Kings sweep aside Taipans in thriller
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