New Zealand Breakers defeated the Wildcats 101-99 in an overtime thriller in Perth.
Gary Wilkinson hit the go-ahead and ultimately game-winning basket with 27 seconds remaining in overtime off another sweet CJ Bruton (seven assists) feed.
Earlier, an amazing Mika Vukona tip-in with eight seconds left in regulation capped an 8-2 Breakers run to send the game into overtime.
Cedric Jackson led the way with 23 points and six assists in another enthralling backcourt battle with Damian Martin (eight points, nine assists, six rebounds).
Wilkinson (18 points), Daryl Corletto, Alex Pledger and Vukona (all 12 points) all played important roles for the winners.
For Perth, Kevin Lisch was superb with 27 points but missed a tough shot to win it in regulation.
Meanwhile, an Adris Deleon NBL masterclass steered Gold Coast Blaze to a 90-83 home win over Sydney Kings.
Deleon blew the Kings away in the second half with a season-best haul of 33 points, killing off a Kings outfit missing star centre Julian Khazzouh.
The Blaze did it mostly without Mark Worthington, who spent much of the second half sidelined with four fouls next to his name.
But Anthony Petrie stood tall with 20 points and nine rebounds, including an important five-point run in his club's dominant third quarter.
Guard Ben Madgen led the Kings resistance with 30 points despite collecting a finger to an eye and an elbow to the mouth during the match.
Anatoly Bose had 22 points and big man Jerai Grant 19, but no other player scored more than six points for the Kings.
The Kings launched a first-half ambush on the fatigued Blaze, who played in Cairns on Friday night, with Shane Heal ordering his charges to outrun their tired opponents.
For the first half it worked, with the Kings claiming a 43-37 half-time lead.
But Deleon caught fire in the third quarter with 14 points - including two three-pointers - as the Kings attack stuttered.
That was the only quarter the Kings lost, but the 29-10 hiding the Blaze dealt out was enough to secure the win.
AAP
Tags: nbl, basketball, sport, perth-6000 First posted March 04, 2012 22:23:39
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