Kings edge Taipans in bizarre NBL thriller

Taipans import Patrick Miller's earlier attempted game-tying shot with 2.4 seconds left on Thursday night was denied thanks to Jaylin Galloway's defensive brilliance.

But Antonio's bomb from just inside halfcourt moments later had the Taipans players sprinting onto the Cairns Convention Centre court to celebrate, believing the game was going into overtime, only to be told otherwise.

It was the final act of a bizarre evening during which the shot-clock was absent in the second half following a 51-minute delay due to power outages.

With Cyclone Jasper hovering ominously, power problems caused the venue's shot-clock to stop working when the Kings led 48-37 at halftime.

NBL chief executive David Stevenson confirmed a contingency plan was hatched to have a camera film the shot-clock on a laptop and project that on the big screen.

But that idea was soon shelved and, with the power remaining out, both teams agreed to play the second half without a shot-clock.

Prior to the power troubles, Sydney made a high-voltage start, riding their zone defence to a 33-15 quartertime lead.

Cairns missed their first 14 three-pointers and fell further behind, 41-19, before fighting back with a 9-0 burst.

The Kings were superb after the long interlude, skipping ahead 61-41 before the Snakes again bit back, reducing the buffer to 13 at three-quarter-time.

With the air conditioning also conking out, players from both teams were slipping and sliding and Sydney appeared to start wilting.

Taipans young gun Bobi Klintman's back-to-back treys and Miller's muscular three-point play saw the scores tied.

Kings superstar Jaylen Adams slotted eight free throws without a miss in the contest's last three minutes, while also taking advantage of the clock's absence by holding onto long possessions.

Rival import guards Adams (24 points, seven assists) and Miller (22, seven) waged an engrossing battle.

Australian Associated Press