A nasty back injury to first-year import sensation Patrick Miller has marred the Taipans' otherwise impressive 87-80 win over Sydney at the Cairns Convention Centre.
Miller, who entered Saturday night's clash ranked second in the NBL in scoring and fourth in assists, had the hosts in control before an explosive drive to the bucket ended with him crashing to the floor, 1:09 out from halftime.
The American's head whip-lashed onto the floor before he got up gingerly and walked slowly to the bench holding his lower back, unable to continue.
Stepping up were acting skipper Bul Kuol (24, played all 40 minutes) and big Sam Waardenburg (22) for the Snakes, who shrugged off last Thursday's buzzer-beating heartbreak in Illawarra by taking the NBL's most prized scalp.
It shot them from fifth to third on the ladder, while sending the Kings slumping from second to fourth.
"We kept moving down the bench to bring guys in," Cairns coach Adam Forde said.
"Everyone responded.
"I'm super happy for the group that they could fill some short-term reward with a win at home."
Ex-Taipan Kouat Noi (18 points) top-scored for the visitors, while Jaylen Adams (13) and DJ Hogg (13) - playing against his former side in his long-awaited debut for his new team following a shoulder injury - got on the scoresheet, but both shot under 30 per cent, embodying the Kings' rocky evening.
The two-time reigning champions were all at sea early, out-rebounded 18-6 in the opening term while missing their first 15 three-pointers.
Cairns boosted their 26-20 quarter-time buffer to 12 points shortly before Miller's night ended in stomach-churning style.
The injury left their backcourt stocks further depleted, with Taran Armstrong (foot) and captain Tahjere McCall (family reasons) already missing.
Without Miller running the point, the home side's offence suddenly looked shaky in the third term as Sydney briefly took the lead on a Hogg triple.
The undermanned Taipans responded with a 15-0 burst either side of three-quarter time, highlighted by Swedish young gun Bobi Klintman's thunderous dunk down the middle over rival Next Star Alex Toohey.
Down by 14, Sydney closed the gap to four points before unsportsmanlike fouls against Denzel Valentine and Makuach Maluach ended their revival.
Lamenting "the defensive mistakes that we made", Kings coach Mahmoud Abdelfattah added: "They made more plays than we did, they got to the 50/50 balls and they stuck together.
"Kudos to them, they deserved it."
