Booed again by his hometown crowd, Aron Baynes has had the last laugh as Brisbane held off Cairns to move back to fourth in the NBL.
The Bullets sprinted 21 points clear at halftime and steadied in the third and fourth term to stave off the Taipans' best swings in a crucial 102-84 Sunday win in Cairns.
Victory followed a loss to Perth on Friday and meant the Bullets (12-12) jumped Sydney to sit just one win behind third-placed Tasmania, while the Taipans (11-13) are sixth behind the Kings (11-12).
Far North product Baynes had a season-high 15 points to go with eight rebounds, hitting all three attempted triples including one which killed off the Taipans' hopes in the fourth quarter.
It was a throwback to the NBA champion's best, when Baynes hit nine triples on his way to an Australian-record 37 points for Phoenix in 2020.
Baynes had earlier tangled with Lat Mayen under the hoop, pushing the smaller Cairns forward to the ground as both received fouls.
The veteran has become the pantomime villain of the Queensland NBL derby after a five-game ban for clashing with Mayen and Cairns coach Adam Forde earlier this season.
The hulking centre has been booed in both visits to the Cairns Convention Centre since.
But Brisbane have won both and Baynes has found his role off the bench in an improving Bullets unit that has turned a corner under first-year coach Justin Schueller.
"There hasn't been much love for Baynesy all year," Schueller said.
"Outstanding to see the big fella hit some threes.
"I watch him every day in practise and he doesn't miss, so I knew it was coming at some point.
"The crowd got into him, he enjoys that and the louder they get the more comfortable I am that he'll have an impact."
Bullets guard Nathan Sobey (18 points, five assists) continued his strong season while Tyrell Harrison (16 points, 13 rebounds), Sam McDaniel (14 points), Casey Prather (eight points) and Chris Smith (11 points) all chipped in.
Frustrated Taipans guard Tahjere McCall (13 points, five rebounds, three assists) fouled out in the final quarter, with Bul Kuol (19 points) the host's most productive player in a loss that drops them to sixth.
"We came out really flat in that first half," Forde said, while also lamenting a late flurry of Brisbane points to finish the third quarter just as he side were eyeing a single-figure deficit.
"We were just constantly playing catch up. The damage was done in the first half."
