Windler sparks Wildcats' comeback against United to square series at 1-1

In front of a massive crowd of 12961 passionate Perth fans, the Wildcats came back from 20 points down to prevail 96-89 in a thriller and square the series at 1-1, forcing a decider in Melbourne on Tuesday.

The Wildcats trailed for three-and-a-half quarters straight and didn’t take the lead until hero Dylan Windler hit his sixth triple of the night with 4:25 on the clock.

Windler starred at both ends in the second half, scoring 20 of his 27 points to finish with a double-double.

He amassed game-high numbers in points (27), rebounds (11), three-pointers (six) and blocks (four) in a special performance, shooting at a remarkable 85.7 per cent from long-range.

Big man Kristian Doolittle also had a double-double with 17 points, 11 rebounds and six assists, coming back on after a knock to the shoulder late to hit a crucial three.

Young gun Ben Henshall was excellent defensively on game-one star Chris Goulding, helping keep him to two second-half points after he was the leading score in the game at half-time with 13.

Bryce Cotton also found ways to impact the game with 18 points, seven rebounds and five assists, while captain Jesse Wagstaff (10 points) continued his excellent series and Tai Webster (13 points) bounced back from an opening-game shoulder concern to finish strongly.

Cotton opened the Wildcats’ scoring with an and-one, much to the delight of the Red Army.

Cotton and fellow guard Webster both had some good moments in the opening term, while Next Star Izan Almansa had an impact coming off the bench.

But it was the visitors with dominated the majority of the term on the way to a 36-21 quarter-time lead.

There was a momentum shift early in the second term when Keanu Pinder and Windler nailed back-to-back triples within a minute to cut the deficit back to 11.

Just as the score started creeping back up, Wagstaff provided a much-needed spark.

Wagstaff was remarkably the first Wildcat into double digits, hitting a pair of first-half threes to lift his team.

Windler was another important contributor in the second, especially at the defensive end of the floor.

United steadied before half-time to hang onto their double-digit buffer, going to the break up 55-41.

Windler was the Wildcats’ leading offensive weapon in the third, hitting three triples to move to a team-high 18 points.

Doolittle was also warming up was some important plays at both ends of the floor before Cotton finished the term with a corner triple to make it 74-63.

Webster was red-hot to start the final term, with six points in a minute to get the Wildcats within single digits and believing of a comeback win.

Windler continued his outside assault, nailing his fifth three before Doolittle joined the three-point party to cut the deficit to 81-78 with six-and-a-half minutes to play.

Cotton levelled the scores at 81-apiece with a driving layup with a little under five minutes on the clock.

Windler then gave the Wildcats the lead with yet another three after Jack White missed both of his free throws at the other end, with White missing another two straight after.

Windler, Cotton and Doolittle all did their bit late scoring-wise, while Henshall helped control Goulding at the other end as the Wildcats finally tasted victory over United after five attempts this season.

Game three is at John Cain Arena on Tuesday from 4.30pm WST.