A CAREER night from National Basketball League (NBL) superstar Jack McVeigh was the catalyst for the Cairns Taipans recording a terrific upset win over the New Zealand Breakers in Queensland on Friday night.

The Taipans hosted the Breakers at the Cairns Convention Centre to start the weekend, although the bottom-placed home side came into the clash as the underdogs. New Zealand was admittedly coming off a loss at the hands of the SEM Phoenix, but prior to that, was one of the form teams of the NBL and was making a strong charge into the top six.

McVeigh was the star of the show as the Taipans overcame an early nine-point deficit to snatch the lead in the first half and rally the support of the home crowd. Although the Breakers made a strong charge in the second half as expected, the Taipans were able to hold on for a clutch four-point victory to mark their fifth win of the season.

It was McVeigh’s most productive scoring night in the NBL, with the former Grand Final MVP proving too much for the Breakers defence to handle, and recording almost half of his team’s output on the scoreboard.

Cairns Taipans (99) def. New Zealand Breakers (95)

Jack McVeigh – 47 points, eight rebounds, three assists

After becoming a father a few days prior, it continued to be a dream week for McVeigh, who blew New Zealand away with an astounding offensive performance, showing exactly why he is one of the NBL’s million-dollar men.

It was evident from the get-go that McVeigh’s shots were falling, with the former Houston Rocket prominent early in the first quarter as the Taipans kept up with the Breakers. He and Sam Mennenga traded baskets in some enthralling action, with the former finding plenty of success scoring inside the paint through contact, although Cairns still trailed by four at the first change.

McVeigh dragged his team back into the contest with back to back three-pointers early in the second quarter, with the Breakers giving him far too much time and space with ball in hand. He was the home side’s best avenue of scoring and at the main break, he had 26 points to his name, with his only miss coming in the form of a half-court heave on the quarter time buzzer.

He picked up exactly where he left off in the third quarter, nailing an early three-pointer coming out of half time, but the Breakers upped their game from there. The visitors delivered their most productive third quarter of the season to lead by three points at the final change, setting up a blockbuster final 10 minutes of play.

Cairns’ star offseason signing was again massive in the fourth frame, nailing a pair of three-pointers to not only put the Taipans in front, but give them some breathing space. He showed off his passing prowess with a magnificently placed alley-oop pass to Marcus Lee, who threw down the one handed slam which saw Cairns Convention Centre erupt. McVeigh iced the game at the free throw line, showing plenty of composure and capping off a night for the ages.

He finished the match with a whopping 47 points on a remarkably efficient 16/21 shooting from the field and 6/8 shooting from long range. McVeigh delivered the highest scoring performance by a Taipan in the 40-minute era, and showed what he and the team are capable of.