Adelaide 36ers chase ninth straight win over Cairns Taipans
Cairns Taipans meet Adelaide 36ers, Wednesday 6:30pm (NBL). Adelaide 36ers have won the last eight against Cairns Taipans.
The big picture
Cairns Taipans come in 4th on the ladder; Adelaide 36ers are 5th. Only a couple of spots separate them, so there is plenty riding on it.
Cairns Taipans are 9–9 in NBL 2026-27, averaging 94 points for and 98.4 against.
Adelaide 36ers are 7–7 in NBL 2026-27, averaging 94.1 points for and 92.5 against.
Form
Cairns Taipans have won two of their last five and most recently lost to Illawarra Hawks 95–107.
Adelaide 36ers have won three of their last five and most recently beat Illawarra Hawks 106–78.
Head to head
These sides have met 14 times on our records since 2022: Cairns Taipans 3, Adelaide 36ers 11.
Last time out (2026-27, Round 1), Adelaide 36ers won 83–69.
Adelaide 36ers have won the last eight against Cairns Taipans.
Biggest margin between these two: Adelaide 36ers by 31 points in 2025-26 (110–79).
Players to watch
For Cairns Taipans, watch Jack McVeigh (15.2 points a game, 36 rebounds in 2026-27) and Jaylon Brown (13 points a game, 35 rebounds in 2026-27).
For Adelaide 36ers, watch Bryce Cotton (26.4 points a game, 32 rebounds in 2026-27) and Nick Rakocevic (17.6 points a game, 156 rebounds in 2026-27).
Milestone watch
Jack McVeigh is set to play game 100.
The deeper numbers
Adelaide 36ers are NBL's best third-quarter side in 2026-27: +4.6 points a game in third quarters.
Cairns Taipans rank second in NBL for last quarters in 2026-27 (+1.1 points a game).
What the numbers say
On form, ladder and history, Adelaide 36ers have the edge.
Written automatically from Lineball's own match and player database. Not betting advice.
