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Melbourne took advantage of an undermanned Cairns outfit to deliver a 43-point thrashing in their Sunday NBL clash.
Melbourne have thumped an undermanned Cairns in a one-sided battle to continue their surge up the NBL ladder, signing for a 106-63 victory.
Days after taking the scalp of competition front-runners Illawarra, United were in full control in their Sunday afternoon clash with Cairns at John Cain Arena.
The 43-point margin was just shy of their 45-point record set during the 2020 finals against Sydney.
The Taipans arrived in Melbourne with some confidence after winning six of their past seven meetings, including the past four straight, but were outclassed from the opening tip-off.
Missing injured starters Pedro Bradshaw, Taran Armstrong and Tanner Groves, the Taipans struggled to make a dent against Melbourne's steely defensive unit.
Taipans coach Adam Forde said it was tough going without those key men, with their losing streak now at five after they slumped to 3-6 record.
"The guys are playing their hearts out ... (Sam) Waardenburg and Rob (Edwards) are playing some superman minutes at the moment and we need to get them some help," Forde said.
"We've just got to wash this one and move on to the next."
He didn't provide a timeline for the return of the injured trio, but said he wouldn't rush any of them.
Melbourne led 23-12 at quarter-time and piled on 31 points in the second term to lead 54-30 by half-time.
United captain Chris Goulding, who has been under fire from a rival coach and owner for allegedly "flopping", finished with 15 points from a 17-minute shift and was happy to share the spoils around his team, with five players in double figures.
United coach Dean Vickerman said Goulding had brushed aside the criticism, most recently coming from Hawks coach Justin Tatum, which the Melbourne thought was "severe".
"I think you've seen his reaction in the last two games - whatever people have said he's just let his game talk," Vickerman said.
"He knows that the only comments that matter are the ones that are made internally in our locker-room, and all the rest of it is just noise, and that's how he's treated it."
Flynn Cameron backed up his big game against Illawarra, adding 18 points and 10 rebounds, while Jack White also put in another huge shift with 16 points as well as 13 rebounds from his 20 minutes.
The hefty margin allowed Vickerman to empty his bench, with all of his players getting on the scoresheet.
Centre Sam Waardenburg and Jonah Antonio (11 points) led the scoring for the Taipans, but the visitors were only converting from the floor at 28 per cent, compared with Melbourne's 47 per cent.
Cairns' three-point figures were even worse, managing just five from 25 shots as United kept the pressure on.
"Melbourne did a good job of pushing us out of our spots, Kyle (Adnam) and Jackson (Makoi) were struggling to get the table set for us," Forde said.
"The majority of our bad offence was off the back of an outstanding defence job by Melbourne and testament to their depth. It didn't matter who they rotated through, they kept their intensity."
United hit triple-figures through a three-pointer by Kyle Bowen with just over three minutes remaining in the match, the final hooter welcomed by the visitors.
The win sets up an enthralling contest on Thursday, with United hosting the Sydney Kings, who suffered their second straight loss, going down to New Zealand earlier on Sunday.
