The Cairns Taipans produced one of the NBL’s greatest ever comebacks on New Year’s Eve, stunning the Adelaide 36ers to win 86-83.
Cairns trailed Adelaide by 18 points with 6:41 remaining at the Snakepit, and still faced a 16-point deficit with about five minutes to play.
What followed was the equal-greatest fourth quarter comeback in the competition’s history.
Cairns somehow sparked a stunning 18-point run over the next four minutes with Adelaide running cold.
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The visitors were shell-shocked, and the Snakes kept their feet down to finish the game by scoring 22 of the final 25 points.
That was despite missing MVP candidate Keanu Pinder, whose absence was brilliantly covered by Tahjere McCall and Shannon Scott.
Scott finished with 31 points, including a three-pointer that put Cairns into the lead.
McCall hit 19 points having provided the spark that helped trigger the incredible comeback.
Adelaide had won the past three matches against Cairns before being rocked in front of a sellout crowd.
The loss ends the 36ers four-game winning streak, while Cairns has now jumped to third on the ladder.
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