21/11/2009 11:56 PM
The Melbourne Tigers have hit rock bottom, losing to the Cairns Taipans 86-83 after a titanic second-half arm-wrestle at the State Netball and Hockey Centre on Saturday night.
The defeat was Melbourne's fifth out its last six, cementing the Tigers at the bottom of the ladder, their hopes of making the finals now almost non-existent.
The result also saw the Taipans snap an 11-match losing streak against Melbourne which stretched all the way back to January 2006.
For the winners, Phill Jones was fantastic with 21 points (9-of-12 from the field) and seven rebounds, while Aaron Grabau also played a huge role in the win with 16 points (5-of-6).
For Melbourne, Daniel Johnson was the standout with 19 points and six rebounds while Julius Hodge (16 points – 6-of-8) recovered from a slow first half to have an impact and Daryl Corletto hit 15 points – 12 coming from beyond the perimeter
In the end, Cairns' superior field goal shooting proved the difference, the visitors hitting 33-of-59 at 56 per cent while Melbourne shot 25-of-58 at 43 per cent.
The Taipans dominated the first quarter with Grabau, Jones, Dusty Rychart and Rich Melzer combining to put Melbourne on the back foot early.
And when Melbourne veteran Sam Mackinnon fouled Ian Crosswhite with 4:50 left in the quarter with the Tigers already trailing 14-5, coach Al Westover was forced to call a timeout.
But things didn't immediately improve for Melbourne when, less than a minute later, superstar import Hodge – of all players - turned the ball over to Jones who strolled down the other end of the court for a simple Cairns double.
Cairns' lead shot out to 11 points (23-12) late in the term but consecutive triples on either side of quarter-time from Tommy Greer and Corletto reduced the margin to just three points (23-20) and got Melbourne, whose only winner on the court to that point was Johnson, back in the contest.
The second term began in tight fashion with both sides virtually trading baskets for six-and-a-half minutes.
Melzer and Julien Mills led the way for the Taipans during this tug of war while Corletto opened up the quarter with two threes.
However, Cairns regained the ascendancy thanks to a 9-3 run late in the period - with Jones prominent – seeing the Taipans' lead go back out to 11 (43-32).
An audacious skyhook from the former Breaker was the highlight of his mini purple patch.
Melbourne responded again, with Johnson, Hodge and Mackinnon (who drained a huge three) chipping in to score seven of the last nine points of the half to restore the Tigers' six-point first-change deficit at 45-39.
Melbourne cut that deficit to one early in the third term but Jones once again played a pivotal role in keeping the hosts at bay with seven crucial points for the stanza – including a huge trey.
Hodge finally clicked into gear and was asking most of the Tigers' questions in this quarter – including a brilliant one-handed dunk – but Jones ultimately proved the main obstacle as he ensured the Taipans clung to a 64-59 lead at three quarter-time.
Two free throws from Rychart 3:26 into the final period put the Taipans up by six (66-72) but Melbourne went on a 6-0 run that was highlighted by another Hodge dunk which levelled the scores at 72-72.
However, that man Jones was Melbourne's stumbling