For the second time in three nights, a final quarter lapse cost the Cairns Taipans dearly as the Sydney Kings went on a stunning 10-0 run to seal a 98-82 NBL win tonight.

The Taipans arrived at the Sydney Entertainment Centre keen to bounce back from Wednesday night's last gasp loss to West Sydney that came down to two uncontested shots and gave the defending champions a shake, locking up the scores 69-69 early in the final quarter.

However, the Kings (5-2 record) went on a 10-run from 74-72 and the Taipans didn't score for two minutes as Sydney clinched back-to-back victories to inflict further pain on a Taipans side (2-4) facing a long road trip.

The Taipans are in the middle of a gruelling away schedule that also includes tackling the 36ers in Adelaide Saturday night, the Hawks at Wollongong on Friday and finally the Bullets at Brisbane next Saturday night.

For the Kings, guard CJ Bruton had 21 points, eight assists while forward Ben Knight had 20 points and six boards and import forward Mark Sanford 20 points and eight rebounds.

For Cairns, veteran forward Marcus Timmons stood out with 29 points and 12 boards while skipper Anthony Stewart grabbed 17 points.

Cairns was on the backfoot from the outset after import forward Chris Burgess (side muscle tear) abandoned a bold plan to play, succumbing to injury just minutes before tip-off.

The 209cm Burgess is the league's leading rebounder with 18 per game and the Taipans sorely miss the American's inside presence, as they did in their 87-84 loss to West Sydney on Wednesday night.

Cairns coach Guy Molloy said medical staff recommended that Burgess be rested for three weeks but was toying with the idea of nursing him through the season.

The Kings also had their fitness concerns with import guard Thalo Green sidelined with a stomach virus.

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