The Sixers had led by 10 points midway through Saturday afternoon's fourth quarter before the Taipans produced several clutch plays to reduce the deficit.

Three points down, Melo Trimble missed a crucial drive late before Anthony Drmic iced the victory by slotting a pair of free throws with 3.5 seconds remaining.

Adelaide captain Daniel Johnson top-scored with 22 points and was prominent early. Majok Deng (17) was pivotal late for the hosts while Nate Jawai and Trimble (18 points apiece) were Cairns' best.

The Sixers' tentativeness early was in contrast to the Taipans' confidence from the perimeter as the visitors led 26-21 at quarter-time.

Johnson stepped up with nine points in the second quarter and a massive block on Lucas Walker which ended in a Ramone Moore breakaway slam.

Drmic and Jarrod Kenny both incurred unsportsmanlike fouls after tangling under Adelaide's basket during a hard-fought term, which featured five lead changes.

Drmic's quickfire triple on the halftime buzzer broke the deadlock to give the 36ers the edge, 45-42.

The third stanza was scrappy as Adelaide's shooting percentage dipped to 29 per cent but they still led 62-58 when reserve guard Adam Doyle closed the quarter with a strong drive and finish.

DJ Newbill started the fourth with a three-pointer before the Sixers went on a 9-0 burst in 80 seconds, book-ended by treys to Deng and Demetrius Conger to extend their lead to double digits.

The Taipans' best efforts to fight back were in vain as they slumped to their 13th-consecutive defeat.

Adelaide coach Joey Wright said his charges did enough to win ugly despite rarely hitting great heights.

"Some nights you're going to lose by 20 playing like that," he said.

"We obviously want to play the best basketball we can play.

"We didn't play the best basketball we could play but we got the W."

Cairns coach Mike Kelly felt his side self-sabotaged at crucial moments.

"We gave ourselves opportunities to gain the lead and keep it, then we shot ourselves in the foot with turnovers and missed box outs," he said.

"We fought through all our mistakes but couldn't get it done in the end."

Australian Associated Press