The Cairns Taipans survived two game-winning attempts from the legendary CJ Bruton to beat the New Zealand Breakers 86-85 in Cairns on Saturday.

Thomas Abercrombie says he wouldn’t want anyone else in the world shooting a three-pointer to win a game. He got his wish but the veteran’s shot on the final buzzer rimmed out.

It left the New Zealand Breakers winless on the Sunshine Swing after a loss to Townsville on Friday night and allowed the Snakes to smile.

“CJ’s played what, close to 500 games, he’s put a few daggers in some teams over the years,” Taipans coach Aaron Fearne said.

“It was poor to give an open shot like that, but sometimes they roll out.”

An exasperated Abercrombie admitted he thought they had it when Bruton was lining up to shoot.

“It just didn’t go in,” he said.

“We’d be talking differently if not for that one shot, but a loss is a loss.”

Earlier it was Cam Gliddon (24 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists) who steered the hosts towards victory, his 13 in the third quarter all class.

Gliddon and Cam Tragardh (13 points, 6 rebounds) combined for 11 points in less than four minutes after half-time to set the crowd alight, Gliddon capping his quarter with a triple and a three-point play.

But Bruton (15 points) made sure New Zealand stayed within six at the final break with some key buckets.

Mika Vukona (16 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists) did his best to deliver an epic road win in the final term, but the Taipans' composure and Gliddon’s third term ultimately proved decisive.

Gliddon shot at 82 per cent from the field, saying an improved interior game had paid dividends.

“They D’d me up like last year, so it was good to get a few easy looks,” he said.

“It felt in control, another level from last year. Hopefully it keeps building.”

The Taipans opened the stronger of the sides thanks to Tragardh, running to a 24-20 quarter-time lead.

New import Demetri McCamey (17 points, 5 rebounds) showed his outstanding talent, while his New Zealand counterpart Kerron Johnson (18 points, 5 assists, 3 steals) was also very effective as the teams headed into the locker rooms square at 43.

The see-sawing battle continued in the second half, Cairns pulling clear by as many as eight points but never able to put the champs on the canvas, something Fearne was critical of.

“We were cruising along and it broke down. We broke our rules and it built pressure,” he said.

Despite the result, Breakers coach Dean Vickerman was happy with his side’s improvement after Friday’s loss.

“Losing is always a problem, but we backed up a bad performance with a good performance tonight,” he said.

“We attacked the rim and got some calls and shot the three-ball well to keep us in the game.”

Jamar Wilson battled on despite badly chipping his tooth mid-way through the match, while Tragardh started on fire but was restricted to 12 minutes because of a foot complaint.

Cairns Taipans 86 (Gliddon 24, McCamey 17, Tragardh 13)
New Zealand Breakers 85 (Johnson 18, Vukona 16, Bruton 15)