Bullets handed wooden spoon by NBL rivals Cairns

Million-dollar man Jack McVeigh has turned it on in the second half as Cairns consigned Brisbane to the NBL wooden spoon with an 81-72 win over their "Sunshine Stoush'' rivals.

McVeigh scored 22 points and Mojave King posted a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds for the Taipans at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre on Sunday.

American import Andrew Andrews also had a double-double with 12 points and 10 assists, as well as six rebounds, and shut the gate with two huge triples in the final three minutes.

The result means Brisbane (6-25) cannot catch second-from-bottom Cairns (9-22) over the last two rounds of the regular season.

The Bullets had 25 offensive rebounds to the visitors' eight and took 25 extra shots, but could not make it count.

"I don't think we had any business winning that game," Taipans coach Adam Forde said.

"Trust me, I'm definitely not complaining about the win. It was more relief than anything."

Both Queensland sides have been ravaged by injuries this campaign and entered Sunday's contest with eyes on a rare win.

The Taipans led by 11 points at quarter-time and seven at the main break, despite McVeigh being held to just five points in the first half.

He had 12 in the third period, but the margin was cut to four points by three-quarter time.

Jacob Holt made it two points with the first bucket of the final period, but that was as close as Brisbane got in the final 10 minutes.

Andrews stepped up with a pair of threes either side of one from Bullets import Terry Taylor to keep the hosts at bay.

American forward Taylor had his best outing in Brisbane colours with 25 points and nine rebounds, while Holt (13 points, 11 rebounds) and Hunter Maldonado (13, 10) both had double-doubles.

But the Bullets shot the ball at just 36 per cent from the field, including 3-of-23 from three-point range.

"I have absolutely no problem with the way we competed, (but) you've got to be able to hit shots in this league," Bullets coach Darryl McDonald said.

"In our last four or five games, I don't know what we're shooting from three, but it's not great.

"It's hard. You're only going to put scoreboard pressure on teams if you can knock shots down and it changes the way they defend you."

Brisbane's losing streak now stands at 11 straight games, with their most recent victory on December 22.