Cairns have produced one of the worst three-point shooting displays of the NBL season as Tasmania finished their title defence with a 90-83 win in Hobart.
Tasmania entered Saturday's match at at MyState Bank Arena knowing they needed to win by about 65 points to leapfrog Adelaide into sixth spot - a scenario that was never going to come to fruition.
The JackJumpers were still keen to win in order to end their six-match losing run, and Cairns' ineptitude from long range definitely helped the home side's cause.
Cairns missed their first 14 shots from the perimeter on the way to 3-of-27 shooting from long range.
Taran Armstrong (0-of-8) was the biggest offender, while Kyle Adnam (0-of-4) also struggled.
Adelaide and Brisbane were the only other teams this season to post just three triples in a game.
"We had some really good looks that didn't drop for us," Taipans coach Adam Forde said.
"It just seemed like everything was a struggle out there to get the scoreboard ticking over."
Majok Deng finished with 21 points and seven rebounds for the JackJumpers, while Jordon Crawford (19 points), Anthony Drmic (12 points) and Milton Doyle (12 points) also hit double figures.
Tanner Groves (17 points) led the way for Cairns, while Armstrong (16 points) and Alex Higgins-Titsha (15 points) also chipped in.
Tasmania (13-16) finished equal on wins with the 36ers, but their inferior percentage means they missed the Play-In tournament.
It means the defending champions will miss the finals for the first time in their four-year history.
"To get this one across the line for our fans ... was tremendous," JackJumpers coach Scott Roth said after the win.
"We've been knocked around a bit, but in the 29th game (of our season) we still had a chance to be in (finals).
"Obviously that was going to be the long shot of all long shots, but it's a great credit to the players."
Cairns (8-20) collected the wooden spoon, with question marks now swirling about the future of coach Forde.
Doyle scored 12 points - including going 3-of-3 from long range - in the opening six minutes of the match to get Tasmania off to a strong start.
The home side led 26-20 at quarter time, and the margin extended to 19 points early in the second term as Deng and Crawford got to work during a 16-3 run.
Deng's huge dunk over Kyrin Galloway sent the crowd into raptures, but Cairns fought back hard to reduce the margin to eight points by halftime.
Cairns missed all 10 of their three-point attempts in the first half, and were 0-14 before Galloway finally nailed one with two minutes remaining in the third quarter.
The Taipans got as close as four points in the third quarter, but Tasmania pulled away again with a 12-4 run to start the final term.
