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Booed again by his hometown crowd, Aron Baynes has had the last laugh as Brisbane held off Cairns to move back to fourth in the NBL.
The Bullets sprinted 21 points clear at halftime and steadied in the third and fourth term to stave off the Taipans’ best swings in a crucial 102-84 Sunday victory in Cairns.
Far North product Baynes had a season-high 15 points to go with eight rebounds, hitting all three attempted triples including one which killed off the Taipans’ hopes in the fourth quarter.
He had earlier tangled with Lat Mayen under the hoop, pushing the smaller Cairns forward to the ground as both received fouls.
An NBA champion with San Antonio, the veteran has become the pantomime villain of the Queensland NBL derby after a five-game ban for clashing with Mayen and Cairns coach Adam Forde earlier this season.
The hulking centre has been booed in both visits to the Cairns Convention Centre since.
But Brisbane have won both and Baynes has found his role off the bench in an improving Bullets unit that has turned a corner under first-year coach Justin Schueller.
Bullets guard Nathan Sobey (18 points, five assists) continued his strong season while Tyrell Harrison (16 points, 13 rebounds), Sam McDaniel (14 points), Casey Prather (eight points) and Chris Smith (11 points) all chipping in.
Frustrated Taipans guard Tahjere McCall (13 points, five rebounds, three assists) fouled out in the final quarter, with Bul Kuol (19 points) the host’s most productive player in a loss that drops them to sixth.
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