The invaluable lessons helping Next Star's rise

Jack McVeigh and Jaylon Brown supplied the fireworks, but it was the leadership of veterans Shaun Bruce and Jonah Bolden that steadied the Cairns Taipans in Perth, and gave Next Star Luke Paul a front-row lesson in how to close out a game.

The Taipans arrived at RAC Arena on Sunday afternoon on a two-game losing streak, including Thursday’s home defeat to the Illawarra Hawks, and in need of a response. They got one.

McVeigh and Brown were outstanding, combining for 58 points on 14/25 three-point shooting as Cairns improved to 7-6. But the impact ran much deeper than the two scorers.

Bolden’s line of 5 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists might not jump off the page, but he made big plays all game. That was especially true late, after Keanu Pinder fouled out, with Bolden threading a picture-perfect pass to Malique Lewis for a dunk.

Then there was Bruce. The 389-game, three-time championship-winning point guard showed all his poise and experience, finishing with 14 points and 2 assists while going 3/3 from beyond the arc.

He was so good that coach Adam Forde stuck with him over 17-year-old Paul down the stretch. It paid dividends, and showed exactly why having veterans like Bruce on the roster matters.

“It’s good as well for Luke to see how that looks, right?” Forde said.

“You’ve got 19 years difference between them with Brucey and Luke’s been great, so it’s good for him to see how Brucey can get it done because he’s such a high-level thinker.

“Even with how well he’s been coached in the past with the situations and teams he’s been in, he takes a little bit from that and his journey, so there’s 19 years of some really good knowledge and his body’s great.

“He had a great NBL1 season and we brought him up here with the idea that we needed a little bit more.

“We knew we’re going to have a young man playing some high-volume minutes at the point guard, and we needed days too when we needed Brucey too.

“He’s not just going to be a towel waver, he was going to be contributing, and today’s an example of him contributing.”

Paul made his second straight start back in his hometown, playing 16 minutes for 2 points and 2 steals. Sitting out the finish didn’t bother him. He was glad to see Bruce deliver, and grateful to be learning from such an experienced point guard.

“He’s been super good for me, you know, this year,” Paul said.

“And it’s multiple guys, there’s Jack as well and Sunday (Dech) and everyone down the line, but I’m fortunate that Brucey can, you know, give me so much tips and tricks along the way.”

Cairns host Sydney on Friday night from 7.30pm AEDT, live on ESPN.