THE Taipans are struggling to come to terms with how they can be so good and so bad inside 24 hours.

But mostly they are just happy their 43-point score in Townsville on Friday night has not cost them a shot at the NBL championship.

The Snakes showed the ticker that they – most of the time – are known for to bounce back from a franchise and league season-low effort on Friday to wipe the floor of Melbourne on Saturday.

Such was the turnaround, Cairns already passed that dreaded milestone well before half time. Within 24 hours they were able to lift their field goal percentage from 26 percent to 43 percent, although when they were really going it was well above 60.

Coach Aaron Fearne didn’t know whether to laugh or cry after witnessing the worst and probably the best of his side overnight.

"I guess you ask yourself why do you coach or is that why you coach?" he quipped.

"I’m still a little lost on what happened (Friday) and it adds to the frustration when they come out and play like that (against Melbourne)."

Fearne joked, or maybe he was serious, that they might have to consult a psychologist to work out how they can put out such differing displays in such a short period.

"It’s probably too deep for me," he explained.

The defeat of Melbourne has kept Cairns in fourth spot but the big loss to Townsville means they have lost the Reptile Rumble series.

That will only matter if the teams finish on equal wins, in which case the Crocs would progress. That equation was not a concern on Saturday though, rather it was more a feeling of relief that they had taken the opportunity to bounce back immediately.

"Looking at our schedule, when we saw we had those two games back to back, we thought it’d be the worst thing that could happen," Taipans point guard Jamar Wilson said.

"But after last night, it was the best thing; we needed to get it off our mind."

Wilson, like his coach, was at a loss to explain the lacklustre effort on Friday night.

"Pressure was on us Friday and we didn’t step up to the plate," he said.

"You could just tell we were never quite in it, and ready and feeling good. But we could have come out flat again – we made sure we didn’t."

The Snakes’ next date is Sunday when they visit Perth for the first time in two weeks.

With Ian Crosswhite battling tendonitis in his Archilles tendon, Fearne recalled Dean Brebner at the expense of the misfiring Deba George.

It is beginning to turn into the finals slog that all Taipans fans cherished last season.

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