Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
The Perth Wildcats have overcome a first-half stagger, compounded by an injury to starting centre Jo Lual-Acuil Jr, to notch a 97-93 NBL victory over the New Zealand Breakers.
Import Dylan Windler (26 points) and sharpshooter Elijah Pepper (25) starred on Saturday night as the Wildcats overturned an 11-point second-quarter deficit to make it two wins in the space of 48 hours at their RAC Arena home base in Perth.
Lual-Acuil played less than eight minutes, exiting midway through the second term with a right calf injury.
“Next-man-up mentality,” Wildcats coach John Rillie said of how his side held it together following Lual-Acuil’s injury, the severity of which will be assessed after undergoing scans.
“The nice thing about our roster is we’ve got experience in our frontcourt.
“We found a way to cover Jo’s loss.”
MVP candidate Parker Jackson-Cartwright paired 30 points with eight assists for the Breakers, while Mojave King added 18.
After Perth leapt ahead 17-8, Jackson-Cartwright and Carlin Davison attacked the paint to pilot a withering 15-0 response, the Breakers suddenly ripping control of the contest.
The Breakers then went on another scoring spree, this time 13-3 either side of the quarter-time break, to storm clear 36-25.
Pepper, the last-second hero against Adelaide on Thursday, continued his hot form, guiding the Wildcats out of their malaise with 13 points in the second stanza for a 16-point half.
He edged Perth in front before Davison finished the quarter strongly to give NZ a 51-47 advantage at the long break.
The Wildcats started the third period with a 10-1 burst to reclaim the lead, fell behind 69-63 as Jackson-Cartwright got on a roll, then finished with a bang, Windler’s bomb from the logo on the three-quarter-time horn edging Perth ahead 76-73.
Windler and 40-year-old Jesse Wagstaff scored 10 points apiece for the term, in which the Wildcats knocked down seven three-pointers.
Perth’s buffer grew to 94-85 before Jackson-Cartwright buried successive treys to whittle the gap back to three points late.
“We need another ball-handler – I think that’s evident,” Breakers coach Gordon Herbert said, identifying his team’s clear over-reliance on Jackson-Cartwright.
“I thought Parker was outstanding, but he has to do everything.”
