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TASMANIA last night stalled its recent run of NBL outs with an NBL rout of league-leading United, Jordon Crawford back to his best before it was party time in the West, where Bryce Cotton was at his best as Perth gave Brisbane a lesson in teamwork and discipline, the Bullets humbled by 32 points.

Melbourne jumped the JackJumpers in an 11-1 start, Chris Goulding already swishing a pressured 3-pointer and the early signs grim.

Early signs - and Will Magnay coming in and picking up two fouls in record quick time - sometimes still can count for very little and this was just one such occasion, Jack McVeigh scoring and aggressive offensively to drag his team quickly back into the contest.

McVeigh (23 points at 50 per cent, 4-of-6 threes) and Crawford, subbed out after the opening minutes, then back to yield 25 points at 50 per cent and also with 4-of-6 threes, steadily turned the game around.

Ahead 24-22 after one, that built to 54-44 by halftime as Melbourne, down injured Shea Ili and Jo Lual-Acuil, struggled to find its usual rhythm and confidence.

Scott Roth's coaching, and he was reappointed this past week for three more years, had a lot to do with that as the Jackies exploited United's defensive strategies, catching them out on backdoor plays and generally playing with greater poise and purpose.

And that was despite star Milton Doyle offering precious little offensively, although his six assists were sublime and when he wanted to, he stuck two 3-pointers in rapid succession.

Let loose after sitting for most of the first half, Magnay had a block party at one end with three rejections, seven boards, six points and an assist playing just under 10 minutes.

Then it was Marcus Lee's turn to thrive against his former club, returning to the fray as Ariel Hukporti did for Melbourne, throwing down some massive dunks en route to a 13-point, 10-rebound double, with three assists and a steal.

Fabijan Krslovic, the third head on Tassie's centre-spot Medusa, also was at his best, gleaning eight rebounds, three assists, a steal and four points in 12 minutes.

Anthony Drmic with 16 points and harassing defence on Goulding also was value, United's Ian Clark and Luke Travers having coniptions defending Crawford.

The further this went, the worse it became for Melbourne, Tasmania's 25-14 third period completely ending this as a contest and opening the door for both teams to clear their benches late.

TASMANIA JACKJUMPERS 107 (Crawford 25, McVeigh 23, Drmic 16, Lee 13; Lee 10 rebs; Doyle 6 assts) d MELBOURNE UNITED 86 (Goulding 16, Clark 15, Hukporti 13, Travers 12, Dellavedova 11; Hukporti 8 rebs; Dellavedova 8 assts) at Mystate Bank Arena. Crowd: 4,340

IN Perth, this was over at quarter-time, despite Brisbane running a sweet baseline inbounds play Nathan Sobey completed with a corner 3-point basket for an opening 3-0 lead.

That was the point at which Bullets fans should have turned off their TV sets, Bryce Cotton simply taking hold of the game and with teammates hustling defensively, taking off for easy transition buckets and even Keanu Pinder knocking down long-range bombs, this just became uglier and uglier.

Not if you were a Wildcats fan, of course. For those at home and the near 13,000 at the venue - Perth fans love a winner - this was joyous and especially so considering Kristian Doolittle and Alex Sarr were not suiting up.

In fairness, Brisbane also was down Casey Prather, who was injured when he arrived in Australia, and Rocco Zikarsky though it is unlikely either or both would have made a huge amount of difference.

We were being treated to "Wildcats Basketball 2.0" and by midway through the first quarter, Brisbane was copping a technical foul as Perth bolted to lead 31-13 at the first break.

While Cotton was piling on points (28 at 63 per cent, 2-of-3 threes) and doling out assists (a game-high seven) and Tai Webster was continuing his recent run of hot form (20 points at 72 per cent, six assists), Hyrum Harris was an unsung hero.

Harris' 11 rebounds and five assists inspired those around him and coach John Rillie had the luxury of clearing his bench.

Even that paid well, Jack Andrew scoring his first NBL basket, much to the delight of the entire roster and roaring home crowd. 

Perth shot at a brilliant 60 per cent and held Brisbane to 34 per cent, only Chris Smith with 15 points shooting better than 50 per cent.

PERTH WILDCATS 118 (Cotton 28, T.Webster 20, Pinder 15, Usher 11; M.Harris 11; H.Harris 11 rebs; Cotton 7 assts) d BRISBANE BULLETS 86 (Harrison 16, Smith 15, McDaniel 12, Sobey 11; Harrison 9 rebs; Scott 4 assts) at RAC Arena. Crowd: 12,836