Brad Newley showed off his NBA credentials by exploding for a career high 46 points as Townsville savaged north Queensland rivals Cairns 118-92 at the Swamp.

The electric Newley had 30 points by halftime as the Crocodiles (11-8) coasted to their fifth successive win despite the massive void created by import Larry Abney's absence.

A traumatised Abney flew back to New York on a mercy dash this week following the death of his grandmother and news his ill mother had been hospitalised.

His absence was supposed to be a boon for the Taipans (10-9).

It proved to be anything but as former Brisbane Bullets forward Daniel Egan put the clamps on Cairns sharpshooter Martin Cattalini while Newley lit up the scoreboard.

The 21-year-old guard eclipsed his previous best tally of 34 with a triple from the corner midway through the third quarter - much to the delight of the 4,432 fans.

Cairns, playing without injured veteran Darnell Mee, shot away to an early lead before a 20-2 run by the Crocodiles set the tone for the remainder of the clash.

After leading 36-16 at the end of the opening quarter, Townsville blew the score out to 73-47 by halftime before taking a 98-72 lead into the final term.

Veteran John Rillie added 15 points for the Crocodiles while Egan had a double-double with 11 points and 14 rebounds after coach Trevor Gleeson started him in place of Abney.

Newley's stat line of seven rebounds, two assists, a steal and block, to go with 14-of-29 shooting from the field, further enhanced his reputation as one of the NBL's most complete players.

Kevin Owens scored a team-high 27 points while an out-of-sorts Cattalini finished with 14 in 35 minutes.

The win, which clinched a 2-1 series split, could prove vital to Townsville come play-off time should the two teams finish the regular season on the same number of wins.

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