Cotton ensures Wildcats keep momentum going

The Adelaide 36ers had been looking better under Scott Ninnis but trying to curtail Bryce Cotton is another matter and the three-time NBL MVP blew them away in the third quarter as the Perth Wildcats prevailed 100-82.

In three games under club Hall of Famer Ninnis since he replaced CJ Bruton for his second stint as head coach the 36ers had been improved including a last up win over the Brisbane Bullets.

However, trying to keep the high octane Wildcats in check at Adelaide Entertainment Centre on Thursday night was always going to be a significant challenge.

The Sixers did do well to keep pace with the 'Cats in the first quarter with 29 points their highest in an opening period all season. The problem was the game was at Perth's pace and they had 34 themselves on 76 per cent shooting.

The Wildcats still led 54-48 at the half and then blew the game wide open thanks to Cotton. Not only does he continue to put himself in prime position for a fourth MVP award, but a strong chance for a fourth championship in his career too.

Cotton was unstoppable in the third quarter including a run of three consecutive three-point bombs that blew Perth's lead out to 16. He scored 11 of his 24 points for the game in that quarter before his captain and 461-game veteran Jesse Wagstaff put the icing on the cake with a couple of threes.

Kristian Doolittle was again Mr Everywhere with 19 points, five rebounds and two steals as Perth's lead rocketed to 25 points by three quarter-time.

It was out to 30 early in the fourth and while Adelaide got it back to 18 by the end, it was only wallpaper over the cracks.

The Wildcats remain in second spot with an 11-7 record after three games on the road in five days with coach John Rillie proud but not content.

"We had a nice third quarter and we had a nice flow in the first half, but to build the lead like we did and then the final score probably doesn’t truly reflect how for the most of the game we played," Rillie said.

"So that's disappointing. The tenacity we had on defence in the third quarter is what you would like to get as close to for 40 minutes as you can.

"That's what we're aiming for and you can see how much offence gets created from that."

The 36ers stay last at 5-12. Isaac Humphries again impressed down low for the Sixers with 24 points and five rebounds with Next Star Trentyn Flowers adding 13 points and six boards.

Ninnis didn’t mince his words post-match about the performance.

"It was just a hugely disappointing game," he said.

"We had an opportunity to come out after our game against Brisbane and take another step forward, instead we took two steps backwards.

"That is bitterly disappointing and to lay a giant turd in the third quarter is just not what we expect, and it's something we won't accept."

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL ROUND 13

ADELAIDE 36ERS 82 (Humphries 24, Flowers 13, Wiley 9, Vasiljevic 9)

PERTH WILDCATS 100 (Cotton 24, Doolittle 19, Sarr 12)

BOX SCORE