NBL game reviews – 2026-01-22

NBL Thursday Wrap: Blowouts, Big Quarters and Massive Individual Performances

Thursday’s NBL slate delivered two very different kinds of contests. In Hobart, the Tasmania JackJumpers handled the Sydney Kings with a strong wire-to-wire performance capped by a 105–94 win. Later in Cairns, the Taipans absolutely steamrolled the Perth Wildcats, running away 106–69 on the back of a huge third-quarter surge and a spread of contributions across the roster.

From Kendric Davis dropping 40 points for Sydney in a losing effort, through to Jack McVeigh’s 34-point outburst for Perth that still couldn’t keep them close, there was no shortage of eye-catching box-score lines. Let’s dive into each game, period by period and player by player, and unpack where things swung – and what stood out for punters tracking player props, totals and momentum.

Tasmania JackJumpers vs Sydney Kings: JackJumpers Outlast Kings 105–94

The first game of the day saw the Tasmania JackJumpers post a solid 105–94 victory over the Sydney Kings. While the Kings had the night’s standout individual in Kendric Davis, Tasmania’s more balanced scoring and control across the first three quarters gave them enough of a buffer to absorb a late Sydney push.

Scoreflow and Game Narrative

Tasmania set the tone early and never really surrendered control:

1st quarter: Tasmania 26 – Sydney 14
2nd quarter: Tasmania 26 – Sydney 22 (half-time 52–36 to Tasmania)
3rd quarter: Tasmania 31 – Sydney 28
4th quarter: Tasmania 22 – Sydney 30
Full time: Tasmania 105 – Sydney 94

The JackJumpers’ 12-point lead after one quarter and 16-point margin at the half (52–36) laid the platform. Sydney did win the second half 58–53, including a 30–22 edge in the fourth quarter, but the damage was done early. Anyone on Tasmania -spread or half-time markets would have been feeling pretty comfortable once that first-quarter double-digit gap opened up.

JackJumpers: Balanced Scoring and Interior Presence

Tasmania’s win came from depth rather than one single explosion. While the JSON doesn’t tie players explicitly to “home” or “away” teams by name, the JackJumpers’ scoring footprint at team level is clear: 52 in the first half and 53 in the second, with no massive collapse at any point. That consistent output reflects a spread of contributors.

One clear factor in Tasmania’s favour was their ability to maintain offensive pressure through the middle quarters. Dropping 31 points in the third quarter – their best offensive period – effectively blunted Sydney’s attempts to build momentum after the break. Even though the Kings put up 28 in that stanza, Tasmania matched them and then some, heading into the fourth still firmly in front.

On the defensive side and in the hustle stats, blocks, steals and turnover impact were big for the JackJumpers. Several home-side players combined steals and blocks into strong all-round efforts:

Tim Soares recorded 3 blocks and 1 steal (4 “steals blocks” total), while also finishing with 16 points and 8 rebounds.
Torrey Craig added 2 blocks and 2 steals (4 “steals blocks” total), with 12 points and 4 rebounds.
Jaylin Galloway chipped in 2 blocks and 1 steal (3 “steals blocks”), plus 8 points and 5 rebounds.

Those interior and wing efforts helped Tasmania protect the paint and disrupt Sydney’s offence, even as Davis went off. On the glass, Soares’ 8 rebounds and Galloway’s 5 rebounds were valuable in limiting second-chance opportunities.

In terms of combined stat categories, several JackJumpers players stood out in points + rebounds (PR) and points + assists (PA):

Tim Soares: 24 PR and 17 PA – excellent two-way output inside.
Kouat Noi: 18 PR and 17 PA, with 14 points and 4 boards plus 3 assists.
Torrey Craig: 16 PR and 13 PA, reflecting his steady two-way contribution.

These types of lines underline Tasmania’s balance. Multiple players contributed across categories, which is exactly what you look for when tracking overs on PR/PRA markets rather than just raw points.

Sydney Kings: Kendric Davis Erupts for 40 Points in Defeat

For Sydney, the headline was simple: Kendric Davis was unstoppable individually, but it wasn’t enough.

Davis scored 40 points.
He hit 6 three-pointers.
He added 8 assists and 2 rebounds.
His combined lines were massive: 42 PR, 48 PA and 50 PRA.

Any overs backers on Davis in points, threes, PA or PRA would have been laughing – he cleared every one of those categories comfortably. His scoring alone (40 of the Kings’ 94) represented a huge slice of their offence.

Around him, there were solid if not spectacular support acts:

David Johnson finished with 23 points, including 4 three-pointers, along with 7 rebounds and 1 assist. That translated to 30 PR, 24 PA and 31 PRA.
Josh Bannan put up 18 points and 15 rebounds, plus 2 assists – a big double-double, reflected in his 33 PR, 20 PA and 35 PRA. He did have 4 turnovers as well.
Nick Marshall added 16 points, 4 rebounds and 1 assist, with 4 threes; his totals reached 20 PR, 17 PA and 21 PRA.

Collectively, those three gave Davis a reasonable level of support. Johnson and Marshall’s perimeter shooting (4 threes each) meant the Kings had plenty of outside firepower, while Bannan dominated the boards with 15 rebounds. Bannan’s 17 rebounds in the PR/RA context (17 RA and 33 PR) made him a key presence on the glass.

Turnovers and Defensive Pressure

Turnovers were a subtle but important part of the story. For Sydney:

Andrew players like Josh Bannan (4 turnovers) and Ben Ayre (3 turnovers) had some issues protecting the ball.
Davis himself had 3 turnovers, balancing out his 8 assists.

On the JackJumpers’ side, turnovers were more spread, with Soares, Noi and Makuach Maluach registering 2 each and Davis the only home guard with 3. Overall, though, the home side managed to turn their defensive playmaking (steals and blocks) into extra chances while limiting truly damaging turnover runs.

The Kings did claw back late with that 30-point fourth quarter, but the early 16-point hole was simply too deep. For totals bettors, the game delivered an offensive show: 199 total points, with both sides hitting at least 94.

Cairns Taipans vs Perth Wildcats: Taipans Smash Wildcats 106–69

The second game was far more lopsided. The Cairns Taipans dismantled the Perth Wildcats 106–69, dominating each quarter after an up-and-down start. Perth got a monster night from Jack McVeigh, but outside of him the Wildcats struggled badly, especially after half-time.

Scoreflow: Taipans Turn It into a Rout

The first quarter was competitive, but after that it was all Cairns:

1st quarter: Cairns 30 – Perth 25
2nd quarter: Cairns 24 – Perth 18 (half-time 54–43 to Cairns)
3rd quarter: Cairns 38 – Perth 13
4th quarter: Cairns 14 – Perth 13
Full time: Cairns 106 – Perth 69

Cairns’ 11-point lead at the half was solid, but it was the third quarter where the game completely blew open. The Taipans’ 38–13 dominance in that period turned an interesting contest into a procession. From a betting angle, any second-half or third-quarter lines on Cairns would have been cleared comfortably, and live totals would have been stretched by that 38-point burst.

Perth’s 26-point second half (13 + 13) tells the story of an offence that stalled badly, while Cairns maintained steady output with 52 after the break.

Taipans: Deep Scoring and Complete Team Performance

Cairns didn’t lean on a single star; instead, they got production right down the roster:

Elijah Pepper led the way with 25 points, including 7 three-pointers, plus 3 rebounds and 3 assists (28 PR, 28 PA and 31 PRA).
Kristian Doolittle delivered 19 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists, with 3 threes – good for 23 PR, 21 PA and 25 PRA.
Dylan Windler posted 15 points, 3 rebounds and 5 assists, hitting 3 threes (18 PR, 20 PA and 23 PRA).
Ben Henshall chipped in 10 points, 2 rebounds and 7 assists (12 PR, 17 PA and 19 PRA).
Jo Lual Acuil Jr added 12 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists (18 PR, 14 PA and 20 PRA).
David Okwera recorded 9 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists (13 PR, 13 PA and 17 PRA), along with 2 blocks.
Kristian Doolittle also contributed 4 rebounds and 2 assists, and nailed 3 three-pointers.

Several Taipans players comfortably cleared double figures in PRA:

Elijah Pepper: 31 PRA
Kristian Doolittle: 25 PRA
Dylan Windler: 23 PRA
Jo Lual Acuil Jr: 20 PRA
Ben Henshall: 19 PRA
David Okwera: 17 PRA

For anyone tracking multis built around PRA or PR overs, Cairns were a dream. Pepper’s 7 made threes in particular would have landed three-point prop bettors in style.

Taipans’ Hustle: Steals, Blocks and Turnover Control

Cairns’ dominance wasn’t just about putting the ball in the basket. They also did plenty of damage through their defence and hustle:

Dylan Windler had 2 steals and 2 blocks (4 total “steals blocks”), alongside his offensive game.
Elijah Pepper added 3 steals, giving him 3 “steals blocks”.
David Okwera blocked 2 shots and also contributed to the defensive presence inside.
Noa Kouakou-Heugue chipped in with 1 steal.

In the “tos + steals + blocks” combined metric, several Taipans players posted solid impact numbers:

Windler: 6 (2 turnovers, 2 steals, 2 blocks)
Elijah Pepper: 4
David Okwera: 2
Ben Henshall: 1
Kristian Doolittle: 1

Turnover-wise, Cairns kept things relatively tidy. Windler had 2 turnovers, while players like Russo-Nance, Huefner, Mayen, Pepper, Henshall, Lual Acuil Jr and Doolittle each had 1. No one on the Taipans side reached the kind of turnover volume that would have really hurt them.

Perth Wildcats: Jack McVeigh’s 34 Points Can’t Save a Flat Offence

For the Wildcats, it was the Jack McVeigh show – and not much else.

McVeigh poured in 34 points.
He nailed 8 three-pointers.
He also grabbed 4 rebounds, finishing with 38 PR, 34 PA and 38 PRA.

From a betting point of view, McVeigh smashed any reasonable lines on points and threes, and would have been a standout lone bright spot in most player prop multis involving Perth.

Outside of McVeigh, though, production dropped away sharply:

Kody Stattmann: 8 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists (11 PR, 10 PA and 13 PRA).
Andrew Andrews: 8 points, 1 rebound, 8 assists (9 PR, 16 PA and 17 PRA) – but with 6 turnovers.
Lachlan Barker: 9 points, 2 rebounds (11 PR and 11 PRA).
Marcus Lee: 3 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist (6 PR, 4 PA and 7 PRA).

While a few players flirted with double-digit PRA, no one apart from McVeigh truly stepped up as a secondary scorer. That left Perth heavily reliant on one hot hand.

Turnovers and Defensive Impact Hurt the Wildcats

Turnovers really bit Perth, especially for ball-handlers:

Andrew Andrews committed 6 turnovers, overshadowing his 8 assists.
Kody Stattmann and Mojave King each had 1 turnover.
Admiral Schofield and Lachlan Barker also had 1 turnover apiece.

In the “tos + steals + blocks” combined metric, Andrews finished with 8 (6 turnovers, 2 steals), reflecting how involved he was – for better and worse. Schofield’s 3 (turnovers/steals/blocks combined) and Marcus Lee’s 1 were modest by comparison.

On the defensive side, Perth did manage some playmaking:

Andrews recorded 2 steals.
Admiral Schofield tallied 1 steal and 1 block (2 “steals blocks” total).
Marcus Lee added 1 block.
Kyrin Galloway notched 1 block.

But those isolated efforts weren’t enough to stem the Taipans’ scoring avalanche, particularly from deep, where Pepper (7 threes), McVeigh on the other side (8 threes) and Doolittle and Windler for Cairns all got going.

Ultimately, the Wildcats’ 26 total points after half-time told the story. Cairns turned the screws defensively while continuing to push the pace and share the ball in offence.

Conclusion: A Day of Big Numbers and Clear Edges – Time to Sharpen Your Odds

Across both NBL games, a few themes stood out. First, strong starts mattered: Tasmania’s early 26–14 first quarter over Sydney set them up for their 105–94 win, while Cairns’ 30–25 opening term and 54–43 half-time lead over Perth gave them the platform to blow things wide open in the third.

Second, elite individual performances can shine even in defeat. Kendric Davis’ 40-point, 6-three, 8-assist line (50 PRA) for Sydney and Jack McVeigh’s 34 points with 8 threes (38 PRA) for Perth were as good as you’ll see in a single round, yet both came in losses. For punters, that’s a reminder: team result and player props don’t always move together.

Third, depth and balance won out. Tasmania spread contributions across Soares, Noi, Craig and others, combining scoring with blocks, steals and rebounding. Cairns had a whole rotation filling up the PRA columns – Pepper, Doolittle, Windler, Henshall, Lual Acuil Jr and Okwera all made strong statistical contributions as the Taipans ran up 106 points and a 37-point margin.

If you’re looking to turn insights like these into an edge on future markets – whether it’s match lines, totals, or player props such as points, PR, PA or PRA – the next step is simple: make sure you’re getting the best possible price every time you bet.

Use our odds comparison tool to line up prices from Australia’s leading bookies in one place before you place your next wager. You’ll see where the value sits on sides, totals and player stats, and you’ll give yourself the best chance of turning days like this – full of big numbers and clear trends – into long-term profit.