The Taipans have proved too strong for the Gold Coast Blaze in their NBL clash on Saturday night, winning 88-72 at the Cairns Convention Centre to remain undefeated early in the new season.

New signing Stephen Black led the way for the home side, tallying 22 points, ably backed up by import Larry Abney's 18-point haul.

Gold Coast shooting guard James Harvey led all scorers with 24 points.

Black believes his side is still a work in progress, but was particularly pleased with their defensive effort.

"We do have a long way to go," the Cairns skipper said.

"It was good to see the resolve of the team, to see them only give away 72 points was great."

The Blaze got the scoring underway through centre Ben Melmeth, but Cairns took little time responding and quickly got on top.

Harvey hit 6-of-6 field goals in the first half to keep the Blaze in the contest, but they struggled mightily to contain the Taipans' offence.

Harvey, who spent the majority of last season injured with cellar-dwellers West Sydney, would go on to lead all scorers but needed more assistance from his teammates at the first-year club.

The Taipans travel to Wollongong next Friday to meet the Hawks, while the Gold Coast face another tricky assignment when they host the Melbourne Tigers.

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