TAIPANS STUNG BY MISTAKES
WHAT was Melo Trimble thinking?
After trailing by as much as 10 points in the fourth term away at Adelaide on Saturday afternoon, the Snakes clawed their way back into the game and were within striking distance of their first win in months inside the last minute.
Cairns got within two points with 12 seconds to play, following a telling Nate Jawai tip-in.
Then, trailing by three points with less than 10 seconds to play and needing a triple to send the game to overtime, import guard Trimble took an off-balance runner around the bucket, which missed, and would have still had the Taipans lose the game if it went in.
Adelaide’s Anthony Drmic then iced the victory by slotting a pair of free throws with 3.5 seconds remaining, 87-82 the way of the 36ers.
After copping their 13th straight defeat, rookie coach Mike Kelly felt his side selfsabotaged at crucial moments.
“We gave ourselves an opportunity to take the lead and keep it but we shot ourselves in the foot with turnovers, missed box outs and they go hard, and got themselves back in the game with their energy,” Kelly said.
“In the end for us there were mistakes that we can’t make if we want to be a good team in this league.
“We fought through all those mistakes and couldn’t get it done in the end.
“We made some big mistakes that killed us in the end.”
Trimble finished with 18 points, on 7-17 shooting, seven assists but committed five crucial turnovers.
“He’s one of the best I’ve seen in this league and I’ve been around for 30 years,” Adelaide coach Joey Wright said of Trimble.
“He is unbelievable. His ability to change direction, he’s got great body control, he can hit the shot, you can’t take the ball from him.”
After being blown out and called out for lack of effort against Perth a fortnight ago, the Snakes have been much more aggressive in their last three games, but it still has resulted in a trio of defeats.
Kelly’s move to a zone defence made it difficult for the 36ers to score with their usual ease.
Reserve guards Jarrod Kenny and Anthony Drmic got into a push and shove late in the second stanza to fire up the contest, with both handed unsportsmanlike fouls for their efforts.
Cairns get their next chance to win for the first time sine Round 1 on New Year’s Eve against the suddenly slumping Perth Wildcats.