Basketball On The Internet.

THERE were highs and lows for a number of contenders for NBL Round 6's Team of the Week honours but two teams stood out as experiencing just highs. Cairns Taipans got the job done over Melbourne and Sydney held on to outlast the Breakers in New Zealand.

The Kings had Xavier Cooks in rare form with 13 points in 13 minutes off a perfect 6-of-6 shooting before they lost their star Boomers forward to an ankle injury which threatens to keep him sidelined for two-to-four weeks.

Holding the in-form Breakers to just 27 first-half points in front of their adoring home fans, never trailing and leading by as many as 22 points, Sydney then withstood an intensely fierce fightback to hold on for an 81-77 road success.

It was the Kings' historic 17th road win, a record the club is continuing to grow.

In Cairns, the Taipans faced the might of Melbourne United without injured import Tahjere McCall, big man Sam Waadenburg and long-range specialist Mirko Djeric, all out with injuries. 

But in an absolute blitzkrieg performance, the Taipans squeezed the life and lustre out of United, forcing a staggering 20 turnovers and holding Melbourne to 29 per cent from beyond the arc.

The Orangemen's starters all scored in double-figures and coach Adam Forde drew superb performances from his entire rotation.

Keanu Pinder, who under Forde's tutelage has turned into one of the best local players in the NBL - Connor Henry take note - enjoyed his fourth double-double of the year with 18 points and 11 rebounds.

Bul Kuol added 18 points, DJ Hogg had 17, and Ben Ayre was the usual livewire off the bench, returning a career-high 16.

By midway through the final quarter, Cairns was ahead 92-52 - yes, by a WHOPPING 40 points in possibly the greatest single-game effort against a quality opponent in the north-Queensland club's history!

It also was the most points any team has led by this season.

Truly it was mesmerising and under the extenuating circumstances, made the Taipans the stand-out winners of Round 6 and our NBL Team of the Week (for the third time this season!)

Finding a Team of the Weak as P!$$ was more difficult. After such a devastating loss, Melbourne was a candidate. But it showed great character to beat South East Melbourne.

And Perth was a contender after losing at home to Tasmania and squandering a lead in Adelaide. But the Wildcats stepped up and beat the odds, erasing their slight candidacy.

Illawarra is just bad and New Zealand showed its fortitude in the manner it fought back against Sydney. Even the refs avoided controversy this round! So Round 6 is a Weakness-free zone.

BASKETBALL ON THE INTERNET TEAM OF THE WEEK
Round 6: Cairns Taipans
Round 5: New Zealand Breakers
Round 4 Tasmania JackJumpers
Round 3 Cairns Taipans
Round 2 Sydney Kings
Round 1 Cairns Taipans

BASKETBALL ON THE INTERNET TEAM OF THE WEAK AS P!$$
Round 6 Not awarded
Round 5 Every Referee Crew Which Called a "Delay of Game" tech
Round 4 Perth Wildcats | Melbourne United
Round 3 NBL Games Review Panel
Round 2 South East Melbourne Phoenix
Round 1 Not awarded