Cotton, Doolittle star as Wildcats beat Cairns

Cotton was at scintillating best and big man Kristian Doolittle wasn't far behind as the Wildcats snapped a three-game losing streak with a 90-87 win at Cairns Convention Centre.

Four-time NBL MVP Cotton finished with a game-high 35 points, including seven three-pointers, stepping up every time his team needed it.

Doolittle (19 points and 11 rebounds) was enormous in the absence of Keanu Pinder, amassing his second double-double in a row, providing a physical presence in the paint and calmness in big moments.

Exciting import Dylan Windler (13 points and three rebounds) was back from an Achilles issue and straight into the action for his first appearance as a starter alongside veteran Jesse Wagstaff who replaced Pinder (concussion protocols).

Fellow starter Elijah Pepper showcased his hustle early with back-to-back offensive boards before scoring the resulting two.

Next Star Izan Almansa was also productive on the glass after coming onto the floor.

Then it became Cotton time as the fired-up superstar hit three triples in a row to face to 10 points.

Doolittle, who was up to a game-high five boards, also joined the three-point party with one of his own to help Perth to a 29-23 quarter-time advantage.

Doolittle continued his productive evening with an and-one early straight after the resumption and was in double digits by midway through the second term.

Cairns had their moments before the Wildcats steadied late to go into the main break up 48-41 with Doolittle leading the way with 13 points and seven rebounds for the half.

Another knocking back a three late in the first half, Windler repeated the dose early in the second as the Wildcats were all of a sudden up to a 12-point lead.

The Taipans cut that back to just one point by halfway through the third quarter.

Cotton kept getting it done at the offensive end to shift the momentum, with the return of Tai Webster from a calf injury helping free up the four-time NBL MVP.

Cotton had 14 for the term in a stunning purple patch as Perth led 75-67 at three-quarter time.

Doolittle produced a massive slam on the break to start his final term but Cairns wouldn’t go away.

Cotton’s seventh triple with five minutes remaining had him up to 31 as his skipper Wagstaff followed suit with one of his own from outside the arc.

Hyrum Harris and Windler were providing the energy and team-lifting defensive play as Perth held on for an important win.

The Wildcats are on the road again for a third straight match when they travel to Auckland to take on New Zealand Breakers next Saturday.