Mitsubishi Match Recap: NBL26 - Preseason v Cairns Taipans

Melbourne United have dominated the Cairns Taipans on Thursday night at Casey Basketball Stadium.

Looking to get off to a hot start this preseason, United wasted no time getting out to a big lead.

Through the first four minutes, Melbourne tallied 18 points without missing a shot, with Finn Delany and Tyson Walker leading the charge.

A four-point play from the former brought the Casey crowd to their feet, while a pair of corner three-balls from the latter acted as a perfect start to his NBL tenure.

This hot shooting only continued when the pair went to the bench, with the trio of Tanner Krebs, Malith Machar and Tom Wilson combining for five unanswered triples to extend United’s advantage out to as many as 26 points.

Fabijan Krslovic and Kyle Bowen then combined for Melbourne’s final bucket, putting the home side up 41-15 after 10 minutes of play.

Delany showed no signs of slowing down to start the second period, slashing to the hoop for an and-one bucket before Walker and Milton Doyle cashed in on a pair of long-range looks.

Krebs added to his tally, knocking down his fourth three-ball, while the pair of Krslovic and Bowen combined for stout defence at the other end.

The Taipans were able to cut into the deficit, reducing the Melbourne lead to 21 points at the major break.

Coming out of half-time it was more of the same from United’s stars, with the trio of Delany, Walker and Doyle getting the team going.

Krslovic added five points on his own on a three-pointer and layup, extending the lead back up to 28 points.

Cairns however continued to show fight, drawing back within 18 to close the term.

A Malith Machar midrange jumper and dunk from Nic Tata pushed United back up by over 20 before Doyle went back to work.

The star import tallied seven straight points pushing the result beyond doubt before United’s young stars showcased their talent.

Dash Daniels got on the board with a floater, Henry Sewell finished a good look at the hoop and Christian D’Angelo cashed in from three.

All of this was just the lead into Bowen’s highlight of the night, with the forward cutting baseline for a poster dunk.

Ultimately, Melbourne were able to secure a 116-91 victory.

United will next hit the court for a pre-season Throwdown against the South East Melbourne Phoenix from 6:30pm on Saturday at State Basketball Centre.