WWAG NBL24 Match Recap - Round 9 v Cairns Taipans

In a battle of two of the best defensive teams in the league, it was Cairns that shot out to an early advantage, scoring the first eight points of the game with a fresh starting lineup.

Chris Goulding and Jo Lual-Acuil Jr eventually connected on a flashy highlight to get United on the board, however the story of the period was the Taipans’ shooting.

The visitors shot 9 for 11 on their two-point attempts, allowing them to open up a 14-point lead after 10 minutes, despite the best efforts of CG and JLA, as well as some powerful plays from Ariel Hukporti.

Needing a better effort to stifle Cairns, Melbourne’s struggles continued.

The Taipans came out firing, cashing in on everything from all over the court to pull ahead by as many as 21 points.

United looked to its three-headed monster of Goulding, Shea Ili and Matthew Dellavedova to help close the gap, with the trio catching fire from deep for a stretch, combining for 32 points after one half and reducing the deficit to 16 points at the major break.

While they stared down a significant margin, the energy of the John Cain Arena crown during Member Appreciation Game helped Melbourne quickly close the gap.

A pair of threes from Tanner Krebs, some highlight plays from Ariel Hukporti, along with more triples from Goulding and Dellavedova brought United with eight points of tying up the ball game.

Cairns, as they had all game, hit back, pushing their advantage back out to 12 with 10 minutes to play.

The momentum appeared to have shifted back towards MU come the start of the final term, as great two-way play saw the home side cut the Taipans lead to just seven.

Needing to claw back just a little further, some late mistakes, which Cairns capitalised on, shut the door on the comeback.

United ultimately fell by 12 points, going down for just the third time this season.

Melbourne will next hit the court on Sunday 10 December against the Brisbane Bullets.