NBL results, news: Goorjian ejected as Kings tame the Wildcats

The 800-game coach was hit with a technical foul late in the term after being told he ‘failed to control his emotions’ after a contentious call went against the Kings.

The overzealous official quickly gave him a second technical, disqualifying him from the game.

Assistant coach Bill Tomlinson initially stepped up into the role of head coach to close out the third, before Andrew Bogut took charge to finish the game.

The whistles weren’t exclusively against the Kings, with Wildcats coach John Rillie copping a technical for giving the officials a spray following a missed call.

The two teams desperate for a win went toe-to-toe in front of 8032 at Qudos Bank Arena, with the Kings never surrendering their advantage after they surged to the front in the second quarter.

Star recruit Matthew Dellavedova had his best outing in purple and gold with 15 points, six rebounds and four assists as he led them to a big 94-72 victory.

But it was his leadership once Goorjian was ejected that was most noticeable, with Sydney clamping down Perth defensively in the fourth to restrict the visitors to just six points in the term.

After the game, Goorjian said he was perplexed by the timeline of events that led to his ejection.

‘“I got a technical last game for asking about a call,” he said.

“And then tonight. I’m not going defend myself, but you guys should watch it.

“He’s (the referee) over there and I’m facing the other way, I turn around.

“I’m shocked. I’ve done a lot more than that and not gotten a technical. Usually as coaches we all know where to tread. If you’ve got one, you’re not going to go there.

“It was like boom, boom. Gone.

“It broke me to come out of the game like that. Sitting here with my daughter who’s trembling after the game was over. During the fourth quarter (it) was really hard to swallow.

“I’m proud of my coaching staff. I’m proud of my team.”

Rillie said they were unable to match the physicality of the Kings throughout the match, resulting in a lopsided 36-15 free throw count.

“It’s been an emotional week for us, but the disappointing thing for me was we talked about Davis and Delly,” he said.

“The physicality that they would come with. We just didn’t match that. They had tremendous physicality throughout the game.

“(On the 17-0 free throws in the fourth quarter) that’s quite the disparity isn’t it.”

RILLIE CATCHES FIRE

After the departure of import Mason Jones following their heavy loss to Brisbane on Wednesday, Ben Henshall earned a spot in the starting five.

In a challenging start to the game, he shot 1-5 from the field early on, with Perth dropping just one of their first 12 shots.

But it was Jaron Rillie who came off the bench to give the Wildcats a spark when they needed it.

He came on and hit a pair of threes, inspiring his team to find their range and open up an unlikely seven-point buffer at the first break.

Rillie finished with 16 points (4-7 3P) to mount his case to earn a starting role in their next outing.

DAVIS HITS BACK

After putting just 15 points on the board in the opening term, Sydney exploded in the second term to drop 35 on Perth and charge ahead by five at the half.

Kendric Davis took advantage of fast-break opportunities as the Kings quickly took ascendancy in the contest with the star import leading the way with 16 through two quarters.

They were also able to free up Xavier Cooks inside who had 10 points.

TROOPS DOWN

Already down an import, Perth suffered a major blow with Dylan Windler going down with an ankle injury early in the game.

One of their main attacking weapons, Windler appeared to roll his ankle when hunting a rebound.

“Dylan’s a big piece of who we are,” Rillie said.

“Sunday’s (Dech) coming back. Guys have had limited opportunity, but moving forward you can see the opportunity is going to be there.

“Sometimes be careful what you wish for.”

UNITED SMASH BREAKERS TO GO 7-0

by Lance Jenkinson

Melbourne United is fast becoming the hottest ticket in town.

Seven games undefeated after overcoming New Zealand Breakers 104-88 at John Cain Arena on Sunday, a red hot United is showing no signs of letting up and you have to wonder when their first loss might come because they have looked streets ahead of the field in the opening month.

United is two wins clear of second-placed Adelaide 36ers, who they face in a mouth-watering contest next Sunday.

Coach Dean Vickerman has a vast array of weapons at his disposal and has his newly assembled team humming on both ends of the floor.

The Breakers did so much right in the first period but still trailed by double digits at quarter time.

Breakers import guard Izaiah Brockington produced an offensive flurry with nine first quarter points as part of a game-high 25 points on an efficient 10/16 from the field.

The star of the preseason Blitz seems to be finding his feet as a Breaker.

Almost in an instant though, United had the quarter and ultimately the game on their terms.

United has a knack of being able to click into first gear in a short space of time to change the course of a game.

The reason, veteran sharpshooter Chris Goulding.

United was lethal as a team from three-point range, going 16/34 (47%).

The 36-year-old Goulding bounced off the bench to convert his first two three point attempts, including one from the car park that had the spectators out of their seats, and it became contagious.

Goulding had 18 points, including 5/6 from three, by half time and gave United the platform to launch from, before finishing with 23 points, including six threes.

His activity has been encouraging with the veteran showing no signs of the quad injury that saw him miss the opening four games.

Tanner Krebs was lethal with 17 points, including 5/8 from three.

The game was starting to take on the complexion of their previous match up last month when United destroyed the Breakers from the second quarter on.

The only mild concern for United was centre Jesse Edwards getting felled by aggressive defensive play from Rob Loe.

The Dutch import winced as he held his left shoulder, but stayed in the game as United took a 56-38 lead into half time.

BREAKERS DIG IN

Unlike their previous meeting, the Breakers showed more resilience in the second half and would not go away.

The Breakers trimmed the deficit to single figures in the third with the imposing Sam Mennenga, a player chock full of confidence on the back of some hot early season form, making his presence felt and star point guard Parker Jackson-Cartwright increasing his involvement.

Jackson-Cartwright just missed a triple double, racking up 20 points, nine rebounds and nine assists, while Mennenga had 16 points and held Edwards to just five points in an impressive defensive display.

With every Breakers run, United found a circuit breaker to restore their 10-plus point lead.

CALM UNDER PRESSURE

Import floor general Tyson Walker was the calm head United needed in those moments of worry.

Specialist scorers Goulding, Krebs and Milton Doyle are relishing Walker’s pass-first approach.

The 25-year-old American gets the job done on both ends too, backing up Friday’s franchise record eight steal game with a further four steals to go with 16 points and nine assists.

Glover fires as Phoenix burn Hawks

- by Michael Randall

Eight flicks of a deadly left wrist was all it took for sharpshooter Angus Glover and South East Melbourne to leave reigning NBL champion Illawarra rooted to the bottom of the NBL ladder in a record-breaking night in Melbourne.

Wollongong-raised Glover went super saiyan on his former club, draining a remarkable seven first-half threes on eight attempts as the Phoenix embarrassed a broken Hawks team, which suffered a 40-point loss, one of its worst of the 40-minute era.

The 27-year-old could not be touched on his way to a career-high 26 points as veteran scoring machine Nathan Sobey poured in 21 and the Phoenix equalled a franchise record 18 makes from deep.

The 40-point win marked the largest in South East Melbourne history, while Glover’s eight treys fell one short of John Roberson’s nine against the Bullets in 2019.

The Hawks fell behind by as many as 47 at one point and were only saved from record-breaking futility by a four-point play with four seconds left in the game from Harry Froling. That moment kept his squad under the 41-point margin the Hawks suffered to the long-gone Gold Coast Blaze, way back in 2012.

The Hawks, gutted by the off-season loss of championship point guard Trey Kell and long-term injury absence of big man Sam Froling, were forced to cut underperforming import JaQuori McLaughlin and went into the game still without lead guard Will Hickey.

They’re far from the finished product with a replacement for McLaughlin still to come but the way they rolled over and died in the face of a Phoenix squad that had been slaughtered by Bryce Cotton and the Sixers in Adelaide three days prior was alarming.

THE MCGEE EXPERIENCE

It’s not every day a monstrous triple NBA champion comes to town and Hawk JaVale McGee gave the JCA crowd plenty to ooh and aah at early doors.

Whether he was blocking seven-footer’s threes, going coast-to-coast to slam it down, putting his shoulder through opponents, or having his own personal one-on-one, complete with spin moves, McGee was in everything early, with 10 points and 3 blocks in the first quarter.

As he tired and the Phoenix got on top, the McGee experience offered ill-fated face up threes off the dribble, the gift of free burgers to the Phoenix crowd after a trio of missed freebies and a fifth foul disqualification just a-minute-and-a-half into the fourth quarter.

It was never clearer nothing was going right for the Hawks when McGee blocked a Malique Lewis three, only to watch the ball land in the hands of Phoenix hustle merchant John Brown III for the easiest of lay-ups.

McGee walked to the bench with 22 points — on 18 shots — to go with 11 rebounds and 5 blocks — a solid, if inefficient line, with little help elsewhere.

Worth the price of admission for the neutral.

WHY PHOENIX CAN’T GET AHEAD OF THEMSELVES

It feels absurd to write it after they’ve just plundered Illawarra by … but a glaring deficiency remains at the Phoenix.

They still desperately need someone alongside Nathan Sobey who can create their own offence when things tighten up and they get bogged down — particularly against better defensive teams.

The Phoenix ignition was sparked by a combination of elite, crisp ball movement, running and gunning against a Hawks’ team that has traded mobility for mass in its frontline.

With the roster currently full, whether that scorer will even happen remains a big question mark — and would involve another change.

‘MVP EVERY WEEK’: BRYCE HAILED AFTER 53-POINT HEROICS

— Mitch Turner

Far North Queensland has been a happy hunting ground for Bryce Cotton, but Saturday afternoon’s game will go down as one of the best performances of a glittering career in any venue.

The Adelaide 36ers superstar came into the Cairns Taipans building and, for the second time this season, put on an absolute masterclass.

To the Snakes credit, the final scoreline was significantly closer than their first outing, especially in their first game without their own injured superstar in Jack McVeigh.

But Cotton once again demonstrated himself a class above, pouring in a stunning 53 points, scoring in basically every way imaginable.

“What this guy’s done for his career is pure greatness, we’re so fortunate that he decided to stay in this league,” 36ers coach Mike Wells said.

“And we’re really fortunate he’s in Adelaide, to see everything he’s accomplished, I’m in absolute awe.”

Cotton’s 53 points were the highest score ever by a 36er, surpassing the 48 scored by Darryl Pearce (in a 48 minute game) way back in 1988.

Cotton has walked into a new club and immediately etched his name into the history books, a fact which led Wells to make another bold statement about his star player.

“He’s the best player in this league, It’s not even close. If he’s in the league, he’s the MVP every year,” Wells said.

“I was fortunate to work with Hakeem (Olajuwon), Charles Barkley’s first game in Houston with us he had 33 rebounds.

“I watched Kobe put 60 on us in his last game before retiring when I was in Utah.

“It’s harder to get open in this league than in the NBA because there’s no defensive three seconds.

“The lane has always got bodies in it. It’s a true credit for anybody to come even close to 50 in a FIBA International type game.

“So I just hope that everybody can really, really appreciate what this guy does.”

Cairns were never out of the hunt, but it also never quite felt like they had enough juice to close the barrier to less than two possessions.

Every time the margin was cut close, the 36ers went to Cotton for a bucket, and more often than not he delivered.

Flynn Cameron was the 36ers next best offensively, nailing several timely threes to keep the Taipans at bay and shift the momentum.

But ultimately it was Cotton who defined this matchup, essentially single-handedly overcoming the home side to secure victory.

SNAKES IN BAD BOOKS

Tensions boiled over at the Snakepit, with Andrew Andrews ejected late into the contest after a protesting having tried to draw a foul on a three point shot with his side three points in arrears.

It was a brutal moment, as the Taipans lost both their best scorer on the night and handed their opposition a two-possession lead via the technical free throw which followed.

It came after coach Adam Forde was whacked with a technical foul earlier in the piece as a result of his own protests.

SHOOTING FUNK ROLLS ON

The Taipans’ much-discussed struggles with their shot seemed to have bled into their free throws, with the team shooting just 1/5 from the stripe in the first term.

That was compounded with some bad misses from beyond the arc, with a pair of Galloway’s shots overshooting the rim entirely.

Admiral Schofield’s struggles from long range have drawn plenty of criticism, with the American import admitting he’s heard the noise from fans and the media.

After those struggles continued early, the veteran swingman nailed a pair of big triples to trim the lead back to single digits.

But outside of Schofields production, the Taipans were once again poor from beyond the arc.

Some late makes from Reyne Smith might give Snakes fans some hope for future fixtures, but it’s

36ERS BIG QUELLED

Handling opposing team’s bigs is something the Taipans have struggled with this season, but a two-big lineup of Marcus Lee and Kyrin Galloway seems to have offered some sort of solution.

Isaac Humphries had a big night when these clubs first met this season, but his influence was far diminished in this game.

It’s tough to say how much this came at the expense of allowing Cotton to run amok.

GOULDING MAKES HISTORY, HIGH-FLYING UNITED SURVIVES SCARE

— Nick Tucker

Milton Doyle and Tyson Walker delivered the knockout blows that sent Brisbane spiralling back down to earth after they had impossibly returned from a 20-point deficit to be within three points.

Brisbane lost 95-86 after Doyle’s three threes in the final two minutes and Walker’s steal and subsequent and-one put out the fire of a Jaylen Adams-led Bullets that almost completed a miraculous comeback at the BEC on Friday.

The Bullets had no right to be in a winning position after trailing by more than 10 points for about 30 minutes of the game. When United led 82-62 with 6:35 remaining, life had been sapped from the building.

But when Adams (29pts) erupted like he was the 2022 league MVP again, the highlight-starved fans came to life and the Bullets rallied with a new-found fight.

When former Brooklyn Net Doyle drained three triples, the Bullets were put out for good and reminded why starting slow and chasing their tail is not something they can afford to do.

ARE UNITED REALLY GOOD, OR ARE THE BULLETS NBL BATTLERS?

Brisbane’s fight in the second half was to be admired after trailing 55-37 and not once threatening to give United a run for their money in the first.

A second half defensive surge amounted to nothing and entering the fourth, down 70-54, Birsbane had a mountain to climb.

They shouldn’t have been in that position in the first place. Tyrell Harrison (six turnovers) did not take good enough care of the ball.

The Bullets missed more free throws than they made in the first half and showed little urgency defensively. It was an underwhelming showing from a team struggling to find continuity without key defender Sam McDaniel and leader Mitch Norton.

MISSED OPPORTUNITIES

The Bullets will rue not capitalising on their dogged defensive efforts that restricted United to just 15 points in the third in a game attempt to squash an 18-point halftime deficit.

With Devers leading the charge and Harrison using his long levers to swat away shots, Brisbane halted United’s momentum but in offence couldn’t fire to pull into a winnable position entering the fourth, down 16.

The hosts leaked four turnovers in the first four minutes of the third, shooting themselves in the foot with poor ball security when strong defence was keeping Melbourne at bay. Melbourne scored four points in the first five minutes but Brisbane could not return serve.

WOAH, SHOOTING WOES!

The Bullets were their own worst enemies in the first half, won 55-37 by a slick and at times superb Melbourne team that looked more United in multiple facets.

It took Brisbane a dismal 31-16 first quarter to click into gear and when they did, three-point maestro Chris Goulding said ‘no thanks’ with two crowd-silencing treys.

It was 18-9 when the coach Stu Lash called his first timeout with 3:49 left and less than two minutes into the second the visitors led 36-16.

Brisbane got as close as 11 in the half after being down 20 but with shooting splits of 44-22-41, what chance do you have but to teeter around a double-digit deficit.

Apart from Adams’ crafty passing, Devers’ plucky defence and Harrison’s alert rebounding, Brisbane didn’t really look to have much going for them. It made matters worse that they could not lace a three (2-9), compared to 9-20 by United.

Melbourne got 34 points from its bench. Brisbane got four from Adams.

Despite a wild run in the final five minutes, there is a bigger problem that needs fixing in order for playoff hoops to be on the menu.

LISTLESS JACKJUMPERS MADE TO PAY FOR HORROR HALF

- Brayden May

Tasmania coach Scott Roth won’t be making any excuses but a tough schedule appears to have caught up with the Tasmania JackJumpers after a 17-point loss to the New Zealand Breakers on Friday night.

The Breakers secured an 82-67 victory against their undermanned opponent on Friday night on the back of a dominant 18-0 run in the opening half.

New Zealand was led to its second win of the season and off the foot of the ladder by star point guard Parker Jackson-Cartwright who finished with 21 points and six assists.

Tasmania, who was playing its second game in 48 hours, will now be desperate for a rest of five games inside its first seven to start the season.

UGLY BASKETBALL

Between the first and second quarters, the JackJumpers produced arguably some of the worst basketball in their short history.

After Magnay’s free throw with 2:23 remaining in the first, the JackJumpers would not score again until just over four minutes remaining in the second term. In that period, they turned the ball over at will and gave up an 18-0 run to the home side. There was a point where they missed four straight free throws, it felt like there was a lid on the basket. They were lucky to be only nine points down at halftime.

POSITIVES FOR BREAKERS IMPORT

The Breakers will be hoping import Izaiah Brockington can kick on from here. His first quarter saw him finish with eight points, three rebounds, a steal and a block which laid the path for arguably his best performance of the season. He finished with 17 points and six assists.

OFFENSIVE WOES

While the points seemed to flow early for the JackJumpers, everything looked like it became just that little bit harder after quarter-time. They finished with 24-62 from the field on 38 per cent shooting. Even at the charity stripe, they struggled for free points and it proved pivotal in Tasmania’s inability to find a way back in the second half. Roth’s side shot 12-21 from the free throw line.

NO ISSUES FROM DEEP

Neither side was able to get the three-ball going throughout the night. It took the Breakers 15 attempts before they made their first attempt from deep and eventually shot a woeful 2-26. The Jackies themselves made 5-19.

COTTON GOES OFF AS 36ERS DESTROY PHOENIX

— Jason Phelan

Bryce Cotton and the Adelaide 36ers bounced back from a sluggish performance against the Sydney Kings to storm to a commanding win against South East Melbourne Phoenix on Thursday night.

Restricted to just seven points in a disappointing loss to the Kings, Cotton put on a show with 23 points in a stunning first half and finished with a game-high 28 points as Adelaide led from start to finish.

Mike Wells’s side led by as much as 28 points before cruising to an impressive win that improved its season record to 4-1.

Playing their third home game in eight days, the Sixers showed no signs of fatigue or mental scars from their last-start loss, romping to their biggest-ever halftime lead of 23 points at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre and keeping the Phoenix to their lowest first-half score of the season.

Isaac Humphries was coming off his own quiet night against Sydney, with just one rebound, but the star big had 10 boards and 11 points in a dominant first half.

Humphries didn’t pull down a rebound in the second half, but finished with 21 points, while Zylan Cheatham pulled down a game-high 14 boards.

The Phoenix didn’t have a scorer in double figures after three quarters in a limp display that dropped them to a 2-2 record.

Jordan Hunter was the first South East Melbourne player into double digits, with six minutes left in the game, and finished with a team-high 16.

Former Sixer Nathan Sobey returned to play his 300th NBL game, 121 of those for Adelaide, but he endured a tough night in his milestone, finishing with 12 points.

BRYCE DID WHAT?

Cotton exploded out of the blocks with 15 points in the first quarter, on 6-of-8 shooting, with three rebounds, including grabbing his offensive board after a three-point and finishing his work for another two points.

The next best 36er had four points in the first quarter as the home side jumped out to a 28-16 lead at the first break.

Amazingly, Cotton led the Phoenix 22-19 four minutes into the second quarter on his own.

Add in scores from Cotton’s teammates, and the 36ers held a commanding 43-19 lead after starting the second term on an 11-2 run.

The Phoenix copped two technical fouls in a torrid second quarter, one to John Brown and one to the bench, and trailed 23 points at the main break.

If they were hoping for a quick bounce back in the second half, the visitors were sorely disappointed, with Cotton picking Daniel Foster’s pocket to start the third term before pulling up to drain another three.

TRIPLE TRASH

South East Melbourne’s three-point shooting was a major factor in its first-half struggles.

Josh King’s side went 0-of-7 in the first quarter and hadn’t hit a triple after 13 attempts until Hunter finally knocked down one from long range just over two minutes before halftime.

That would be his side’s only triple of the first half, however, the Phoenix going 1-of-16 to Adelaide’s 4-of-10 in three-point shooting.

Sobey shot 0-of-3 in the first half, as did Hunter Maldonado.

They weren’t the only ones struggling from outside the arc in the first half, with DJ Vasiljevic shooting 0-of-2 with just one point, from a free throw, before the main break.

The Phoenix improved their long-range shooting after the horse had bolted, but still finished with 8-of-31 to Adelaide’s 6-of-18.

McVeigh sidelined in Snakes blow

- by Mitch Turner

Jack McVeigh could be sidelined for up to a month, after Taipans coach Adam Forde revealed an injury to his shooting hand had been hampering him since round 2.

The Snakes coach opened up his press conference on Thursday morning with the revelation, saying scans had cleared the 29-year-old of any broken bones.

Forde said while the forward would be “day-to-day”, the worst case scenario would see him sidelined for up to four weeks.

But one thing is for certain, McVeigh won’t suit up for a crucial home clash against Adelaide this Saturday.

“We wanted to try and take a conservative approach with how we manage him,” Forde said.

“So we’re going to rest him (for Saturday) and get that wrist 100% right.

“It shuffles the deck a little bit, but it’s important we manage his risk.”

Forde said import Admiral Schofield would move to the power forward slot in McVeigh’s absence, with additional offensive workload set to reside with him as well as Andrew Andrews.

Tassie lap up Kings crushing as Perth haunted by former star

- Jake Garland

Tasmania JackJumpers star Tyger Campbell is quickly becoming a fan favourite as the shooting guard led his side to its first win at Mystate Bank Arena.

In the clubs first Ignite Cup of the season, the JackJumpers offensive structure was on full display as they ran out 86-70 winners over the Sydney Kings.

From the first tipoff, the JackJumpers showed they had come to play putting on an 8-0 run to start the game before the Kings hit the boards.

Campbell dropped three massive threes in the second quarter as the JackJumpers pushed the lead to 18 points, with the Kings having no answer to stop the star import.

JackJumpers coach had been big on his players with the rebounds in the opening five games and it seemed to click on Wednesday night as Tasmania won both offensive (13-6) and defensive (35-32) boards.

It is now a quick turnaround for the JackJumpers who fly out on Thursday and head to New Zealand to take on the Breakers on Friday while the Kings will host the Perth Wildcats on Sunday.

BOARDS GALORE

It had been a talking point for the JackJumpers coach Scott Roth about his team’s ability to grab offensive and defensive rebounds.

Roth should go home happier than usual after his side ensured they threw themselves at every rebound available as they won both the offensive (13-6) and defensive (35-32) boards.

Going along with the team play and the effort he had been asking for, the JackJumpers had more assists (22-16).

KING-SIZED CRASH

Five days is a long time in basketball and it would feel even longer for the Sydney Kings who were coming off a massive 24-point win against the 36ers on Saturday only to travel to Hobart and go down by 16.

The Kings were on the back foot early after the JackJumpers blew out of the blocks, and never recoverd.

Kendric Davis landed just four of his 17 shots from the field, as the JackJumpers’ tough defence allowed the home side to get up 16 more shots from the field.

It’ll be another five day turn around for the Kings with plenty to work on before hosting Perth on Sunday

TECHNICALLY, WILL

It wasn’t the way JackJumpers captain Will Magnay would have liked to end it with the Boomer being evicted from the game late in the third quarter.

On a night which had a number of technical fouls from both teams, Magnay was on the backend of two technical fouls which saw him packing as the JackJumpers held a 17 point lead.

EVERYONE NEEDS BEN AYRE

He may not be the most talented player on the court every night, or the tallest but what Ben Ayre brings is the energy any team needs to get them into the mood to win games.

Wednesday night was no different, Ayre finished with 13 points, three rebounds and one assist but his ability to celebrate with his teammates at every possible opportunity was on display to lift every member he could. If there was anyone teams should clone, it is Ben Ayre.

IMPORTS ARE HOME

Anyone could have forgiven the JackJumpers imports for taking their time to get into the team’s morale and building into the season, especially the latest injury replacement import TJ Starks.

But all three, Bryce Hamilton (9 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists), Starks (five points, one rebound, two assists) and Tyger Campbell (21 points, two rebounds, five assists) are leading this team to be a serious contender in this year’s championship. The club knows they will lose Starks in four weeks but knowing David Johnson is set to come back in will only hype them more.

WILDCATS BURIED BY FORMER STAR - NO, NOT THAT ONE

As Perth continues to come to terms with the departure of superstar Bryce Cotton, it was another former Wildcat that hurt them on Wednesday night at the Perth Arena.

Casey Prather continued his terrific start to the season for Brisbane, knocking down 34 points in the Bullets massive 110-93 win over the Cats.

He was always going to be a problem for the team he won a championship with, having scored at least 31 points against them the last two times they met.

Going into round 5, Prather was averaging 23.3 points per game. Only Cotton (25.8), now with the Adelaide 36ers, was averaging more.

The win ended Brisbane’s four-game losing streak, and Perth’s run of three consecutive wins.

BULLETS FIND TARGET

The Bullets averaged only 83.25 points per game in those four losses before Wednesday night’s clash.

They already had 56 on the board at half-time against the Wildcats.

Prather and centre Tyrell Harrison were Perth’s biggest headaches.

And they were the main reason the Bullets led by eight.

Prather had 15 points at half-time, while Harrison was causing Perth all sorts of troubles in the paint, with 12 points and seven rebounds at the main break.

Harrison needed to play well against Perth’s Jo Lual-Acuil Jr for Brisbane to win.

He finished with a massive double-double, 27 points and 15 rebounds.

Jo Lual-Acuil Jr was restricted to 18 points and three rebounds.

THREE-POINT WORRIES CONTINUE

Just 78 seconds into the second term, Dontae Russo-Nance dropped a three-pointer to give the Wildcats the lead in the game for the first time.

Scoring from beyond the arc has not been a strength for Perth this season.

That score was also Russo-Nance’s first three-pointer for the season, having gone 0-12 in the opening four games.

He’s not the only Cat struggling. Perth went 2-19 from three against Cairns in Round 4, the club’s fewest three-point makes in a game since May 1, 2021.

They managed 10 of 34 attempts against Brisbane, who dropped 12 of the 26 long shots they put up.

SIGNS ARE THERE

Perth import Mason Jones hasn’t had the greatest start to his NBL career.

But he threatened to carry the Wildcats to victory when he dropped 10 of his side’s 23 points in the third term.

His night finished midway through the last quarter with a technical foul. He had a team-high 19 points next to his name, beating the 16 he scored against Tasmania in the Wildcats round 1 loss.

MAXIMUM POINTS IN CUP

Brisbane picked up the maximum seven points to start its Ignite Cup campaign, the NBL’s in-season tournament, with $400,000 up for grabs.

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Teams get three points per win and an extra point for every quarter won.

The Bullets won all four quarters.

There have been four games played in the Cup and the Bullets join New Zealand atop that table, who picked up the maximum seven points against Illawarra a week earlier.