Basketball On The Internet.

IT is clear Markel Starks felt all the pressure of Scottie Wilbekin's long shadow disappear in the glare of the spotlight in which he basked last night.

With Cairns on Friday declaring Wilbekin was a "no go", any energy Starks lost moving forward while he was looking back over his shoulder, finally was available to him.

And he used it to the tune of an NBL career-high 27 points at 56 per cent, with 4-of-6 threes including the game-winner over Daniel Johnson for a spectacular 104-101 road win by the Taipans over Adelaide.

They were all over Adelaide from the outset too, literally as Torrey Craig flying onto Ebi Ere shows, and weathered the best the 36ers could muster on a night they seemed strangely ambivalent.

Only Johnson and Jerome Randle turned up to play for the entire ride while Starks had Craig, Mark Worthington and Cam Tragardh all chipping in with invaluable contributions.

Coach Aaron Fearne's last time-out with 7.0 seconds left and scores tied 101-101 was measured and composed, he later explaining they practice plays such as the one which unfolded for Starks to stick the winner.

It's been a long road trip for Cairns but it finished on a true high, as shown again below!

IT wasn't so thrilling for Illawarra in Perth, belted 91-62 to turn their Halloween game into something of a horror.

Rob Beveridge's biggest loss in Perth (he's coached 68 games there) came as his men surrendered to fatigue and pressure after travelling from their game in Townsville on Wednesday.

But it was a great night for the Wildcats with Nathan Jawai having his best game - consecutive third quarter slams were a joy - and Casey Prather also successfully making it back on to the hardwood.

Damian Martin got through another game as the Wildcats resumed their mantle as the team most likely to roll United.

Perth next runs back into Townsville, the Crocodiles now with struggling import Jordair Jett definitely and firmly in the firing line.

Today: Jet lag hit 36er Jerome Randle far worse in his second NBL game than in his first so it will be interesting to see how it impacts Al Harrington today for Sydney against the Hakim Warrick-less Melbourne United. I'm staying with United to win this and hoping Marcus Thornton fully packed his bags for the trip to Melbourne, which would make the next stage of his career even easier.

Last night: TAIPANS 104 (Starks 27, Craig 19, Worthington 13, Tragardh 12; Worthington 6 rebs; Worthimngton 5 assts) d 36ERS 101 (Johnson 29, Randle 25, Gibson 13, Ere, Petrie 10; Johnsoin 14 rebs; Randle 9 assts) at The Fortress, Titanium Security Arena. WILDCATS 91 (Prather 18, Beal 17, Jawai 16) d HAWKS 62 (Lisch 15, Penney 12) at The Jungle, Perth Arena.

Online

Cairns KO's Adelaide: http://bit.ly/1M8yYiU

Perth smacks Hawks: http://bit.ly/1Nh90KW