Match Report: Wildcats v Hawks NBL26 Round 3

The Perth Wildcats gave the Red Army plenty to cheer about on Thursday night, overcoming a slow start to surge past the defending champion Illawarra Hawks 92–84 in the Open Air Game at RAC Arena.

With the roof rolled back and the Perth night sky above, it was the visitors who came out firing. The Hawks stunned the Wildcats with the opening nine points of the game before Kristian Doolittle finally got Perth on the board, muscling through contact and converting from the line to complete a three-point play that sent the crowd into full voice.

Dylan Windler added a long-range three and Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. buried a triple of his own, but Illawarra’s physicality set the tone early. The Wildcats trailed 20–10 at quarter-time.

Perth came out with purpose in the second quarter, Windler doing the dirty work on the glass and keeping the scoreboard ticking. At the other end, Illawarra’s Tyler Walker led the charge with 15 first-half points, forcing the Wildcats to find an answer.

The momentum swung midway through the period with a massive Lual-Acuil block that lit up RAC Arena and shifted the energy of the contest.

From there Windler and Doolittle took over, knocking down back-to-back threes and pounding the boards to wrestle control away from the Hawks.

By halftime the Wildcats had completely flipped the script, leading 44–43 behind Windler’s 13 points and 9 rebounds, Doolittle’s 11 points, and another impressive shift from Jaron Rillie, who pulled in five rebounds and showed poise in just his second game of NBL action.

The third quarter belonged to Perth. Building off their late run in the first half, the Wildcats began to click offensively. Windler, Doolittle and Lual-Acuil continued to carry the load, while import Mason Jones began to find his rhythm, scoring 10 points and hitting 2-of-5 from deep.

Illawarra had a scare when star centre Javale McGee limped off with a leg complaint, though he returned later in the term. By then, Perth’s control was clear, they stretched the advantage to double digits and went into the last break up 67–56.

The Red Army erupted in the fourth as Jesse Wagstaff drilled a three and then absorbed a heavy hit at halfcourt, drawing a technical foul and lifting the energy of The Red Army another notch.

Perth kept their foot down, with Elijah Pepper stepping up in the clutch. Pepper nailed a huge three with 90 seconds left to push the lead to 87–75, then followed it with another off-balance dagger through heavy defence that had RAC Arena on its feet.

McGee battled bravely to keep the Hawks in it, finishing with 26 points, 14 rebounds and four steals, but the Wildcats’ second-half dominance proved too much. Perth closed out a 92–84 win, their second straight victory, 

The Wildcats now move to 2–1 and continue to build chemistry in their NBL26 campaign, while the Hawks regroup after a tough trip west.