Basketball On The Internet.

CAIRNS and Sydney had Brisbane and Perth respectively on the ropes last night but failed to deliver the knock-out blows as a couple of Bullets "kids" and some Bryce Brilliance changed the complexion of the entire NBL round, the Wildcats now legit but Brizzy? Hmm, still a tad shakey.

After all, when Mitch Norton sticks a rare three these days to put Brisbane up 74-54 a couple of minutes into the final quarter, you'd think coach Justin Schueller could now sit back and enjoy the rest of the ride.

Instead he copped another wild ride as Cairns came home with a flurry, the Bullets laying another turtle-head in their undergarments.

Having bungled three recent games with timid then panicky last quarters, a 20-point lead ultimately just proved sufficient, though not without the now customary heart palpitations for Bullets fans.

A 7-0 run with Jonah Antonio sinking three free throws brought the Taipans back to 61-74 and Bullets benchmen were starting to move uneasily in their seats.

When seldom-used import Josh Roberts slammed down a dunk, the deficit was back to 10, Bullets benchmen nervously glancing at each other.

Tahjere McCall's fourth 3-pointer of the evening made it 73-80 at 1:44 left so, come on, Brisbane was safe, no?

No. 

A layup, then a dunk by McCall after another turnover - Brisbane committed 19 of them -made it 79-82, the Bullets benchmen squirming in their seats now.

But a pair of Nathan Sobey free throws finally sealed a game which saw Aron Baynes cement his role as the Villain of North Queensland, Bul Kuol too often losing his focus and expecting lenience where none should have been available, and both coaches playing nice after having the Mody Maor example. 

Bobi Klintman's second quarter dunk sent Cairns to a 23-17 lead and it had all the momentum. But first rookie Rocco Zikarsky with six points on 3-of-3 shooting, then Isaac White with his tenacity, turned the game back around for Brisbane.

A 25-12 third term set the Bullets up for that 20-point lead before Brisbane managed to hold on despite rushing back into that familiar Panic Station. 

BRISBANE BULLETS 84 (Smith 17, Sobey 14, White 10; Bannan 8 rebs; Scott, McDaniel, Bannan 3 assts) d CAIRNS TAIPANS 79 (McCall 29, Miller 12, Waardenburg 11; Kuol 6 rebs; Miller 7 assts) at Cairns Convention Centre. Crowd: 4,007

FOR the larger portion of last night's game at the Jungle, Sydney was in control. Not total control, you understand. But just with that little edge that saw the Kings ahead of Perth 26-23 after one, or 57-50 at the half, Keanu Pinder beating the interval buzzer to trim that deficit.

But whatever chances Sydney had to build on its leads - and it had plenty of them - a 16-of-30 return from the free throw line ensured the Wildcats would never be too far out of the contest.

All Perth needed was someone else to catch fire. After all, it already had Bryce Cotton at his very best, and we all know that is something completely wonderful to see.

He didn't start well, going 0-of-5, but he went 12-of-22 the rest of the way, 14-of-16 from the stripe en route to 41 points, the season-high by anyone in Season 2023-24.

For good measure, he also dished seven assists, grabbed five boards and had a couple of steals too.

In a word, he was magnificent.

Even so, he couldn't do it alone and while Kristian Doolittle has emerged as an excellent Robin to his Batman, rolling his ankle early made him less effective.

Jaylen Adams, DJ Hogg and Denzel Valentine were raining threes and while Jordie Hunter started well, his early foul issues actually proved helpful for the Kings, opening the door for Jonah Bolden.

He barged through, swishing 5-of-5 threes, then 7-of-8 before his night was over, scoring 28 points at a wicked 83 per cent.

But Cotton received the help he needed when Alex Sarr (15 points at 75 per cent, five boards, an assist and two steals in 16 minutes), Pinder (18 points at 70 per cent, nine rebounds, five assists, two blocks) and the wily veteran Jesse Wagstaff (14 points with three triples) made plays, the 11,000-plus Red Army raising the roof.

There were no courtesy court-times as coach John Rillie shortened his rotation to eight and by midway through a 31-22 fourth quarter, this one was in the bag.

Incredibly, as Sydney's offence dried up, coach Mahmoud Abelfattah kept Bolden anchored to the bench, the potential match-winner restricted to just 22 minutes as Perth finished on 114 points, the most by any club so far this season.

PERTH WILDCATS 114 (Cotton 41, Pinder 18, Sarr 15, Wagstaff 14; Pinder 9 rebs; Cotton 7 assts) d SYDNEY KINGS 105 (Bolden 28, Adams 21, Hogg 20, Valentine 13; Valentine 9 rebs; Adams 8 assts) at RAC Arena. Crowd: 11,897