Cairns have come back from 10 points down in the fourth quarter to defeat South East Melbourne 85-76 and record back-to-back wins to open a new NBL season for the first time since 2017/18.
The Phoenix led 69-59 early in the final period of Saturday's clash at John Cain Arena but their hopes of a second home victory were left in tatters as the visitors outscored them 26-7 in the stretch.
Keanu Pinder (19 points, eight rebounds) and new import DJ Hogg (18 points, eight rebounds) each played pivotal roles for the Taipansin their late surge, as did guard combo Tahjere McCall and Shannon Scott (15 points apiece).
After guiding Cairns to a 9-19 record last season, including just four wins away from home, coach Adam Forde praised the way his young squad is learning to play together as a group following first-up wins in Tasmania and Melbourne.
"I have extreme confidence in this group, whether it's warranted or not. I said it from the start that, you know ... I adore this group, I love how these guys get after it every day," Forde said after the win.
While the Taipans coughed up 20 turnovers of their own, they held their nerve late in the game despite falling behind by double digits.
"Just to be able to get these sort of wins, as ugly and weird as it is, but the floodgates opened up for us somewhere halfway through the fourth quarter," Forde said about his side's impressive finish.
"There was a moment, the time out, where you look up with eight minutes (left) but down 10. Hey, there's tons of basketball here, there was no self-implosion."
Backing up from a tough road loss against the Illawarra Hawks on Thursday, a monster 27-point effort from Mitch Creek was not enough as the shorthanded Phoenix made just 3-of-17 three-point shots and committed a franchise-record 26 turnovers.
Creek scored 16 first-half points on 8-of-10 shooting but Cairns took a 43-41 lead into the main break in a scrappy contest that saw both teams combine for 24 turnovers, 15 of those from the home side as they failed to cash in on a 24-13 edge in rebounding.
Coach Simon Mitchell felt the quick turnaround from their trip to Wollongong took a toll on a Phoenix squad attempting to cover the absence of two new imports, Chinese centre Zhou Qi and former NBA forward Ryan Broekhoff.
"I was pleased with seven-eighths of it, it's hard to really explain that last five minutes," Mitchell said after the loss.
"I think we were just out on our feet. It looked like we were in the 15th round of a heavyweight fight and struggling to get out of that corner."
