NBL Cup: third-quarter wobbles cost Hawks big in loss to Taipans

The Hawks were well in command of the game with a handy cushion in the third term before the contest swung on a coach's challenge, a new tweak for the tournament, that turned Tyler Harvey being at the foul-line to Taipans ball at the baseline.

It would've been Taipans star Scott Machado's third personal, but the MVP candidate dropped three straight triples from there to close the third quarter on 12-6 run to cut the margin back to three.

The Snakes went 5-5 from three-point range to re-take the lead early in then fourth, finishing with a season-high 18 triples at 51 per cent to secure a much-needed win and grab six Cup points in claiming three of the four quarter bonus points in the victory.

Machado finished with 31 points, eight rebounds and six assists in one of the individual performances of the season, while Jordan Ngatai's 17 points came at 5-7 from lojng-range, the latter two twisting the knife down the stretch.

Mirko Djeric (16 points), Cam Oliver (13) and Majok Deng (13) were the other Taipans in double figures but it's one Hawks coach Brian Goorjian will definitely rue after hitting third-term wobbles for the second straight game.

Harvey had 24 points and six assists, while Sam Froling 10 points and eight rebounds in the first-half to finish with a 12-12 double-double. Deng Deng proved the surprise packet with a career-high 17 points in just 19 minutes, while Justinian Jessup had just three points in the second half to also finish with 17.

Cam Bairstow had 13 points in 10 rebounds as he continues a steady return from injury, but the tough night endured by Goorjian's other marquee star Deng Adel was a big talking point, the former Cleveland Cav going 0-15 from the field and just 1-2 from the line for a solitary point.

Goorjian was left most frustrated with his side's effort at the defensive end, particularly on Machado, but said he simply didn't get enough from his second unit.

"Giving up over a hundred points in a 40-minute game is just disappointing," Goorjian said.

"When we've been good [this season] we've got out in transition off our defence. The two wins we got [over Cairns] up there we really defended and got a lot of easy baskets.

"The second aspect of our team has been our bench and we've got great contribution and I thought tonight, every time I went to it, we went backwards. We were up at the end of the first quarter I went to the bench, we went backwards. In the second quarter, we went backwards.

"In the third quarter we got up 12-13, I moved bodies, we went backwards. [We were] always putting pressure on that first group. We've got to get a better job done there and if we don't defend, we're not going anywhere. How [poorly] we defended Machado is the whole game."

The loss won't see them tumble down the NBL ladder, but it puts them behind the eight-ball in regards to the seperate NBL Cup standings, with the Taipans claiming six of the seven points available in each tournament outing.

They now face a quick turnaround into Monday night's game against New Zealand in what will be the Breakers first game for the month-long tournament.

The Taipans shot out to a 10-5 advantage on the back of a 7-0 run but Harvey had his first three from the Bunnings decal to punctuate the Hawks own seven-zip charge to re-take the lead.

Jessup and Simon also got in on the act from long-range, with Djeric and Ngatai also finding their range as the Taipans finished the first term a point in front and a bonus point in the bank for winning a quarter.

Both sides continued firing away from deep, with Machado and Jessup trading triples early. Jessup added five more on a 9-0 run, while Froling had six for the quarter, and finished with eight rebounds, as the lead ballooned to double figures.

Machado had a massive 12 of the Snakes 21 points for the term with a Ngatai banking in a Hail Mary on the halftime buzzer cut the margin back to five at the main break.

Harvey had a four-point play as the Hawks went 12-5 to start the third term, giving the Hawks a 12-point cushion before Machado put his team on his back with three straight triples. Majok Deng also fired from deep as the Taipans closed the term on a 12-4 run to cut the margin back to three at the final break.

The final term was a shootout from the outset, with the Taipans going 5-5 from long range, Djeric grabbing two triples, as they re-took a six-point lead. Deng Deng had two from deep to post a career-high 17 points and a chase-down block in a crucial cameo for his side but it couldn't swing things back, with Ngatai dropping back to back threes that proved the hammer blow.