Dethroned: Pinder's Taipans erase 26-point deficit to topple Kings

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Taipans centre Keanu Pinder ($300,000) was right in the middle of two second-half, game-winning runs that sent a message to the rest of the league: Cairns are legit in NBL27.

Cairns demolished defending champion Sydney's 26-point lead with 3:25 left in the second quarter with an 11-0 run to open the third, then put up a brutal 18-0 run at the end of the third and 3:10 into the fourth.

Pinder, 31, had five of the 11 and 10 of the 18, finishing with 24 points, plus 10 boards, three assists, and three steals in 28:20. He banked the winner off the glass with 11.3 seconds left.

"When Keanu is active defensively, rolling hard and putting rim pressure, like that's the best version of K's basketball and when he plays like that, it's fun to be out there with him," Taipans star Jack McVeigh ($349,800) said.

Sydney's 26-point lead is the biggest blown margin of NBL27; South East Melbourne are the dubious owners of the next three - 21, 16 and 15.

"Well, they didn't really run away with it," Kings head coach Brian Goorjian said.

"I thought on our side of it, it looked like they would and they went up five or six. We've been up 25 points, and we came back and got our shots with the guys that we wanted to shoot the ball at the end of the game.

"Got to the free-throw line, and I think we were 0-for-8 from the three outside of Torrey (Craig) on all the other perimeter guys late in that game. But we gave ourselves a chance to win from, as you said, a really bad position with five minutes to go.

"Everybody was anxious, and it's, um, early in the season. We're moving through it, but there wasn't a lot to say. What I just discussed was moving bodies, trying to find a combination that worked.

"I moved to a different lineup with five minutes to go and we were five down and we got back and took the lead. I thought the adjustments were fine. We've got a game on Sunday, and we can't play like we played in the second half again."

Australian Boomers forward McVeigh had 16 points (3-from-5 from three), four rebounds, three assists and two steals in 28:55 minutes.

"When we're playing that style that I keep yapping about, that pace, that push, getting into the ball, good things happen for us," McVeigh said.

"Maintaining it, we haven't done that yet. We're such a new team. So, it's like so much of learning each other, building confidence together, how you speak to each other to lift each other up, and just navigating all that.

"Tonight was just great 'cause, man, when you're down 25, like things can go ugly quickly and for us to stick together and, you know, trust in what (Adam) Fordey was doing, keep the huddles, and come out there and follow Keanu's lead. It's good stuff."

McVeigh was right when he said, "We still haven't put together a game in 40 minutes", given the Taipans were down 53-32 at the half.

"That's the process that we're like building towards, and we still haven't put together a game in 40 minutes, but every day it feels like we're getting better," McVeigh added.

"We're finding new problems. We're solving them. We're having good conversations, and that's a win we can build on by trusting what we're doing. Definitely, that was some fun; that was a fun second half."

Kings star guard Kendric Davis ($436,000) finished with 23 points, but he had a brutal shooting night: 7-from-20, including 2-from-10 from behind the arc.

"Won a championship," Goorjian said.

"Tremendous belief in him and tremendous belief in our group. We needed to move the ball a little better, but the shots that Kendric took, I had no problem with, and I know he's going to make them.

"I have complete confidence in him, but on the offensive end, I'm not just talking about Kendric, but just as a group. I thought it carried over, as I said, from the defensive side of the ball.

"We were a step off, and we're lazy, and to move the ball and cut and get it side to side takes energy, and we just seemed like we didn't have any in the second half."

Watch

NBL27

Cairns Taipans vs Sydney Kings | Round 9 Highlights

Watch the highlights as the Cairns Taipans take on the Sydney Kings in Round 9 of NBL27 on November 13, 2026.

What you need to know

• The Cairns Taipans beat the Sydney Kings 84-82 at the Cairns Convention Centre in Round 9 of NBL27 on Friday, November 13, 2026, in front of 4,016, coming back from 26 points down to move to 8-6 and level the season series at 1-1, while Sydney fell to 8-4.
• Sydney won the first quarter 29-12 and led 48-22 with 3:25 left in the second, but Cairns won the third 31-14 and the fourth 21-15, taking their first lead since the first quarter at 68-67 with 9:15 to play.
• Keanu Pinder ($300,000) top-scored with 24 points and 10 rebounds on 9-from-20, 20 of them after half-time, and scored the winning layup with 12 seconds left, while Kendric Davis ($436,000) led Sydney with 23 points and seven assists on 7-from-20, including 7-from-11 at the line.
• Cairns made 16-from-42 from three and Sydney 9-from-36, a 21-point edge from the arc in a two-point game.
• Cairns shot 29-from-81 from the field and still won, because they held Sydney to 29 second-half points after the Kings had scored 53 in the first.

Milestones & Moments

• Kendric Davis ($436,000) reached 2,000 career NBL points with a free throw six seconds before half-time and finished the night on 2,013.
• Keanu Pinder ($300,000) played his 156th NBL game and moved to 1,889 career NBL points and 1,014 career NBL rebounds.
• Jack McVeigh ($349,800) moved to 2,974 career NBL points in his 229th NBL game.
• Shaun Bruce ($76,500) played his 390th NBL game.

Cairns Taipans

• Keanu Pinder ($300,000) top-scored with 24 points and 10 rebounds on 9-from-20, including 3-from-6 from three, with three steals, and scored the last four points of the game.
• Jack McVeigh ($349,800) added 16 points on 4-from-11, including 3-from-5 from three and 5-from-7 at the line, with four rebounds and two steals.
• Malique Lewis ($207,900) scored 11 on 4-from-13, including 3-from-9 from three, with three assists in a team-high 30 minutes.
• Reyne Smith ($156,300) scored eight off the bench on 3-from-9, and both of his threes came in the fourth quarter to give Cairns the lead, at 68-67 and 80-79.
• Jonah Bolden ($133,600) had six points, seven rebounds and two blocks off the bench, going 2-from-4, every attempt from three, including the shot that made it 77-69.
• Luke Paul ($115,000) had three points, eight rebounds, four of them offensive, and two steals in 17 minutes.
• Shaun Bruce ($76,500) had five points and four assists off the bench, including the pass for Pinder's winning layup, but turned it over three times.
• Cairns shot 29-from-81 from the field, 16-from-42 from three and 10-from-15 at the line, with 49 rebounds, 20 assists and 10 turnovers.

Sydney Kings

• Kendric Davis ($436,000) top-scored with 23 points and seven assists on 7-from-20, including 2-from-10 from three and 7-from-11 at the line, but missed a step-back three with the scores level at 82 and a three with a second left.
• Torrey Craig ($290,400) scored 22 with seven rebounds on 8-from-16, including 4-from-8 from three, with three blocks, and his late threes gave Sydney the lead at 79-77 and 82-80.
• Matthew Dellavedova ($221,300) scored 11 on 4-from-8, with three assists and three turnovers, in 21 minutes.
• Xavier Cooks ($308,000) had eight points, eight rebounds and four blocks on 4-from-9, and his offensive rebound and assist set up Craig's three with 59 seconds left.
• Andrew Carr ($277,000) had six points and 10 rebounds off the bench on 3-from-8, missing all four of his threes, with two blocks.
• Makuach Maluach ($134,500) scored five off the bench on 1-from-5, every attempt from three, and 2-from-2 at the line.
• Jason Spurgin ($69,000) scored five on 2-from-3 with three rebounds in 13 minutes off the bench.
• Sydney shot 30-from-73 from the field, 9-from-36 from three and 13-from-19 at the line, with 48 rebounds, 15 assists and 14 turnovers.