How Shaun Bruce is adding bite to Luke Paul's game

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Duke Blue Devils commit and NBL Next Star Luke Paul ($115,000) was just three years old when Cairns Taipans teammate Shaun Bruce ($76,500) made his NBL debut.

The 17-year-old Western Australian started for the Taipans, and the 389-game, 35-year-old veteran shared the point guard duties as the road team inflicted more pain on the Perth Wildcats with a 100-92 win in Round 8 of NBL27 on Sunday, November 8, 2026.

Bruce, who came off the bench, had a crucial 14 points, two rebounds, and two assists in 22 minutes. Paul looked more comfortable in his 16:13 minutes.

“He's been super good for me this year,” Paul said of Bruce.

“It's multiple guys, Jack (McVeigh) as well, and Sunday (Dech), and everyone down the line.

“I'm fortunate that Brucey can give me so many tips and tricks along the way.

Taipans head coach Adam Forde said Bruce was a vital part of Paul’s development before he heads to Duke in 2027.

“You've got 18, 19 years of experience with Brucey.

“Luke's been great, and to see how Brucey can get it done – he's such a high-level thinker.

“Even how well he's been coached in the past, with the situations and teams he's been in, he takes a little bit from that in his journey.

“There's 19 years of some really good knowledge. His body's great. He had a great NBL1 season.

“We brought him up here with the idea that we needed a little bit more. We knew we were going to have a young man playing some high-volume minutes at point guard.

“But we needed days, too, when we needed Brucey. He's not just going to be a towel-waver.

“He was contributing, and today's an example of him contributing.”

Cairns are now 7-6 and fourth, while Perth, without NBA veteran import Brandon Knight ($277,000), dropped to 5-6 with a brutal set of road games to come.

“We're just not playing good enough as a group,” Perth Wildcats head coach John Rillie conceded.

“We show good patches at both ends of the floor at different moments, but overall we're just not playing good enough for long enough.

“We're seeing the results of how we're performing right now.

“Absolutely confident about the group.

“There's disappointment. Like anyone, I think they look within first to see what can be better.

“That's the trick when you're in these moments. You can go inward and try to solve the problem by yourself, but go inward to see, can I be selfless to help our team get out of this?

“That's what I spoke about to the group afterwards. Everyone's trying to solve the problem, but we've got to have a better collective in moments.

“Then the 50/50 moments and all of that start to swing in your favour.

“We did a good job of that early in the year with the way we played. We had a desperation about ourselves. That's what we have to reshape right now.”

Taipans million-dollar man Jack McVeigh ($349,800) earned his pay cheque. The 30-year-old Australian Boomer torched the Wildcats all night long on 14-for-23 from the field, including 8-for-15 from three. He finished with 36 points in 33:49 minutes.

“On another level, right?” Forde said.

“I thought it was Brucey. When Perth started to make their run, I think they brought it back to seven, and they huddled up on the court.

“I didn't call a timeout. They huddled up, and then they ran down and ran that little slingshot action, where Jonah (Bolden) got the ball and made that bounce pass to Malique for the uncontested [basket].

“That was Jack's call to make that play.

“There are just layers to Jack that he keeps evolving, and we're fortunate to have him.”

Watch

NBL27

Perth Wildcats vs Cairns Taipans | Round 8 Highlights

Watch the highlights as the Perth Wildcats take on the Cairns Taipans in Round 8 of NBL27 on November 8, 2026.

What you need to know

• The Cairns Taipans beat the Perth Wildcats 100-92 at RAC Arena on Sunday, November 8, 2026 in Round 8 of NBL27, ending a two-game losing run and handing Perth a fourth straight loss. Cairns are 7-6 and fourth, and Perth are 5-6 and seventh.
• Cairns won the first three quarters, 31-27, 22-21 and 24-17, to lead 77-65 at three-quarter time, and led for good from 15-14 with 4:25 left in the first. Perth won the fourth 27-23 and an 8-0 run cut it to 87-82 with 2:47 left, before Cairns scored the next seven to make it 94-82.
• Jack McVeigh ($349,800) scored a game-high 36 on 14-from-23, including 8-from-15 from three, all of them in the first three quarters, and Elijah Pepper ($202,700) top-scored for Perth with 26 on 9-from-15, 10 of them in the last 58 seconds.
• Cairns made 20 threes from 44 attempts to Perth's eight from 21, a 36-point edge from deep. Perth made 25 twos to 15 and 18 free throws to 10, which won back 28 of it.
• Perth turned it over 18 times to Cairns' 13, and Cairns blocked 10 shots, six of them by Malique Lewis ($207,900), while Perth blocked none.

Milestones & Moments

• Jack McVeigh made eight threes, the most by any player in an NBL27 game (nobody else has made more than seven in the 59 games so far). His 36 points are his NBL27 high and the most by a Cairns player this season.
• Jack McVeigh also moved to 2,958 career NBL points, 42 short of 3,000, in his 228th NBL game.
• Keanu Pinder passed 1,000 career NBL rebounds, his seven taking him from 997 to 1,004, in his 155th NBL game.
• Cairns' 20 threes equalled their own NBL27 high, set against Brisbane on October 29, and the most by any team this season. Their 10 blocks are the most by a team in an NBL27 game.
• Malique Lewis had six blocks, one short of his own seven against Adelaide on September 27, the only bigger single-game total in NBL27.
• Elijah Pepper scored 26, his NBL27 high, and moved to 823 career NBL points in his 79th NBL game.
• Jesse Wagstaff played his 551st NBL game, after his 550th against Brisbane on November 4, and his 14 points were his NBL27 high.
• Kristian Doolittle moved to 1,498 career NBL points, two short of 1,500, in his 104th NBL game.
• Shaun Bruce played his 389th NBL game, 11 short of 400, and his 14 points were his NBL27 high.

Cairns Taipans

• Jack McVeigh scored a game-high 36 points with six rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks on 14-from-23, including 8-from-15 from three, with 16 in the first quarter, and finished plus-16, the best mark in the game.
• Jaylon Brown ($277,000) had 22 points, five assists and three steals on 7-from-13, including 6-from-10 from three, and 2-from-2 at the line, his free throws with four seconds left making it 100-92.
• Shaun Bruce ($76,500) scored 14 off the bench on 5-from-8, including 3-from-3 from three, with nine in the fourth quarter, when his threes made it 87-74 and 94-82.
• Keanu Pinder ($300,000) had 10 points, seven rebounds (three offensive), six assists and three steals on 2-from-9, and 5-from-8 at the line, with five turnovers, and his three with 5:33 left made it 82-74.
• Malique Lewis had nine points, five rebounds and six blocks on 3-from-7, including 1-from-4 from three, and 2-from-2 at the line.
• Jonah Bolden ($133,600) had five points, seven rebounds and four assists on 2-from-3 off the bench, his three with 15 seconds left in the first quarter making it 31-27 at the break.
• Luke Paul ($115,000) had two points, two steals and a block on 1-from-5 in 16 minutes as a starter.
• Cairns shot 35-from-74 from the field, 20-from-44 from three and 10-from-14 at the line, with 33 rebounds, 23 assists, 13 turnovers, 12 steals and 10 blocks.

Perth Wildcats

• Elijah Pepper top-scored with 26 points on 9-from-15, including 4-from-6 from three, and 4-from-4 at the line, with 10 in the first quarter and 14 in the fourth, 10 of them in the last 58 seconds.
• Kristian Doolittle ($317,500) had 20 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals on 8-from-16, including 0-from-3 from three, and 4-from-4 at the line, with six turnovers.
• Jesse Wagstaff ($84,700) scored 14 off the bench on 5-from-6, including 2-from-2 from three, and 2-from-2 at the line, his three with 3:18 left making it 87-80.
• Dylan Windler ($271,100) had 11 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals on 5-from-9, including 1-from-4 from three, with six turnovers, and finished minus-9, the worst mark in the game.
• Cameron Huefner ($58,500) scored nine off the bench on 2-from-3, including 1-from-2 from three, and 4-from-4 at the line.
• Jaron Rillie ($177,100) had seven points and a game-high seven assists on 3-from-7, including 0-from-3 from three.
• Anthony Dell'Orso ($100,000) had four points, three rebounds and two assists on 1-from-6, and 2-from-3 at the line, in 21 minutes off the bench.
• Perth shot 33-from-64 from the field, 8-from-21 from three and 18-from-20 at the line, with 37 rebounds, 21 assists, 18 turnovers and no blocks.