Photo: Paul Kane / Getty Images
Bryce Cotton climbs up for a shot in the Perth Wildcats home NBL victory over the NZ Breakers.
Superstar duo Bryce Cotton and Vic Law gave Perth Wildcats fans an unforgettable team at home with a 95-85 Sunday night NBL victory over New Zealand Breakers.
Back at the RAC Arena in Perth after 14 straight games, Cotton (25 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds) and Law (26 points, 12 rebounds) burned the Breakers (5-15) on Sunday, as they did in their made last round. 15 Thriller. The defeat – their sixth in the last seven games – brings the Kiwi Club back to the bottom of the ladder.
The Wildcats importers combined for 71 points in a 104-102 overtime classic over the Breakers last Monday in Hobart.
There were early signs of excitement on Sunday as the Breakers put up 34 points in the first set before taking a 49-43 lead at the break.
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The visitors then took the Breakers 26-15 in the third quarter and took control of the glass as Law found his place on the offensive after battling in the first 20 minutes.
Up 13 with three minutes to play, the Wildcats (14-6) had the win in the bag, but sloppy play from their own half gave the Breakers three straight buckets, forcing coach Scott Morrison into two timeouts.
As Law and his last jumper of the night managed to eat the game by 30 seconds, an enthusiastic 50 percent capacity crowd celebrated the Wildcats’ sixth win in a row.
Photo: James Worsfold / Getty Images
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“I have to give New Zealand a lot of credit, they took us apart to start the game. They are a really good team,” Morrison told reporters.
“They just ruined our pick-and-roll defense – they did it last week too – and luckily for us, we were able to hit some hard shots and make some small adjustments that helped us a bit.
“But at the end of the day we were just lucky that they missed some of the good looks they got and there are two games in a row where I thought they really attacked us.”
For the Breakers, 20-year-old French importer Hugo Besson did not score after his 23-point trip in their last matchup, recording just 9 points on 3-of-15 shots. His compatriot and next star Ousmane Dieng also had a quiet game with 5 points on 2-of-8 shooting and just 14 minutes off the bench.
Photo: James Worsfold / Getty Images
Perth Wildcats star Vic Law proved too much for the Breakers to come back over NBL defeats.
The Kiwis were led by 15 points and 6 rebounds by center Yanni Wetzell, 14 points (on 5-of-11 shooting) by striker Finn Delany, 13 points, 9 assists and 5 rebounds by import point guard Peyton Siva and a dozen points (5/11 FG) by skipper Tom Abercrombie.
Coach Dan Shamir said their failure to coral up (Perth won the board battle 43-23) and get on the strip was the difference in the second penalty.
“The number that jumps you out of the statistics sheet is that we shot zero free throws in the second half and they shot 14,” Shamir said.
“There’s no explanation, there is no excuse because we probably made more outside shots and when you shoot the ball, you shoot the ball and shoot the ball, you do not get filled.
“But we have to watch, because it’s very unusual, 14-0 in a game like this. Probably a mix of how we play, how we play offensively and how we could not keep them from the free kick line.
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