'Cats defeat Cairns for back-to-back road wins

The Wildcats trailed for the entire first half before turning the game on its head with a dominant third quarter on the way to a 128-92 victory at Cairns Convention Centre.

The win takes the team's record to 10-8 with five more away games left in a gruelling seven-game road stretch.

Four-time NBL MVP Bryce Cotton continued his stunning run of form with yet another 40-plus point game, his fourth in a row, finishing with a game-high 44 points to go with six assists.

Fellow import Dylan Windler was another big performer for the Wildcats, doing it at both ends of the floor with 18 points, five assists, four rebounds and a whopping four steals.

Captain Jesse Wagstaff wound back the clock with a vintage performance, with his plus-minus of 22 summing up just how important he was in helping Cotton unlock his brilliant best form while knocking back some huge buckets of his own.

Trailing by six points at quarter-time and three at the main break, the Wildcats produced a 38-18 third term and never looked back.

Four players ended up in double digits with Keanu Pinder (13) impressing in his return from illness and Elijah Pepper (10) on song after half-time.

The Wildcats went with the same starting five as Sunday’s road win over Adelaide, with David Okwera getting his second start in a row.

The home side started strongly, going on a 9-2 run with a stunning dunk from Next Star Izan Almansa the only highlight for Perth before Windler’s settling triple.

Windler’s urgency on the glass, in a bid to spark the Wildcats, was also evident.

After missing the past three games with illness, big man Pinder was injected into the contest midway through the opening term against his former team and got into the action with a big slam not long after.

The Wildcats got their three-point game rolling eventually with Windler hitting his second and Almansa following suit.

Cotton had a couple of late buckets before the break, but it was the Taipans up 28-22 at quarter-time.

The second quarter was a see-sawing affair with both teams having their moments.

Taran Armstrong was the star for Cairns on the way to 18 first-half points.

Cotton finished the second term strongly, amassing nine points in the last three-and-a-half minutes to move to 16 for the half.

Windler beat the buzzer for a three-point play to put his team within striking distance at the main break, with the score at 57-54.

After some important plays late in the second quarter, captain Jesse Wagstaff was making his presence felt once again to start the third.

A Ben Henshall three-pointer gave the Wildcats the lead for the first time in the match, two minutes in the third term.

Cotton overtook Armstrong as the leading scorer in the match with his third bucket of the term and Windler got one from way downtown as the momentum shifted in Perth’s favour.

In the blink of an eye the Wildcats were up 93-75 with a quarter to play and ran away with an important road victory.

The Wildcats are back in action next Sunday against Illawarra Hawks at WIN Entertainment Centre.