Wildcats' first quarter avalanche stops 36ers

An opening quarter onslaught was the catalyst for the Perth Wildcats’ 112-80 victory over Adelaide 36ers at the NBL Blitz on Tuesday night at the Gold Coast Convention Centre.

Adelaide, coming off an opening 101-75 loss to New Zealand on Sunday, got jumped by the Wildcats, Perth scoring 21 of the first 23 points on the game.

The Wildcats connected on eight of their first nine shots as the 36ers’ turnover woes continued, Perth turning up the heat on the defensive end.

Adelaide, who were missing import duo Trey Kell (knee) and Jacob Wiley (calf), found an avenue to basket through Isaac Humphries, who scored six opening quarter points as the Wildcats took a 37-11 lead into the first break.

Jason Cadee was instrumental again for the 36ers, scoring 15 points and dishing four assists, Jamaal Franklin adding 15 points, while Humphries toiled hard for 14 points and five rebounds.

Perth was led by Michael Harris, who scored 18 points, while off-season recruit Keanu Pinder added 17 points and four rebounds, rookie Ben Henshall 17 points and Bryce Cotton 12 points.

Humphries continued to dominate in the keyway, scoring twice under the basket, including a big dunk off assists from Trentyn Flowers, as Adelaide scored the first nine points of second quarter.

Cadee connected on back-to-back three-pointers to cut the Wildcats lead to 39-23, then the 186cm point hit another triple, his fourth of the game after finishing the opening quarter with a buzzer beater.

Nick Marshall then connected from beyond the arc and Trentyn Flowers scored on a tough drive to cut the Perth advantage to 13 points (44-31).

Perth responded late in the opening half as Harris caught fire from outside as the Wildcats went into the main interval with a 63-39 lead.

The Wildcats started the second half like they did the game, pushing the lead out to 70-41 before Cadee hit a fifth three-pointer and Flowers threw down a huge dunk in traffic over fellow NBL Next Star Alex Sarr.

In his first NBL start, Alex Starling (five points, four rebounds) had some moments, while Franklin came to life, scoring nine straight points late in the third quarter as the Wildcats took an 85-61 lead into the final 10 minutes.

Franklin hit his fourth triple of the night to reduce the margin to 93-71, but the Wildcats responded with an 8-0 run, which was the story of the evening.

Adelaide will be back in action on Thursday afternoon when the 36ers face Tasmania JackJumpers.

PERTH WILDCATS 112 (M. Harris 18, Pinder 17, Henshall 17) def ADELAIDE 36ERS 80 (Cadee 15, Franklin 15, Humphries 14) at Gold Coast Convention Centre.

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