ROUND 8 of the National Basketball League (NBL) saw one of the best scoring performances in competition history, with Chris Goulding erupting to help Melbourne United pull off a comeback win over the Perth Wildcats.

United hosted the Wildcats at John Cain Arena on Saturday night, fresh off a high-scoring win over the Brisbane Bullets. Although Perth was missing superstar guard Bryce Cotton, the team had performed admirably in his absence, and was not to be taken lightly.

The Wildcats defied the Melbourne crowd to lead by 14 points at half time, looking in a strong position to pick up an impressive road victory. However, United stormed out of the blocks after half time to completely erase the deficit and snag a resilient win.

Undoubtedly the biggest factor in the match was the performance of Goulding, who was a one-man army and put Melbourne on his back to show why he is still one of the best in the business at scoring the basketball.

Melbourne United (106) def. Perth Wildcats (97)

Chris Goulding – 46 points, two rebounds, two assists, one steal

Goulding’s performance in the win over the Wildcats was one that needs to be seen to be believed, with his third quarter set to go down in the history of the NBL as one of the best heat checks of all time.

Goulding had been solid in the first half, but had not been able to get off the chain just yet, and the home side trailed by 14 points. Whenever Melbourne needs fast offence, its veteran sharpshooter is often the answer, and Saturday’s performance was the pure definition of answering the call.

The United skipper found form in the third quarter, hitting six consecutive triples to single-handedly drag his side back into the contest. Goulding was often face guarded when shooting the ball, but displayed why he cannot be given an inch of room.

There is no better shooter in the NBL, and Goulding provided a reminder of that fact with a torching performance. He delivered 25 points in the third quarter alone, and that was enough to get Melbourne United back into the game. He also produced some clutch makes down the stretch, taking advantage on the defence pressing too high when guarding him and scoring inside.

He finished with a whopping 46 points on 16/32 shooting from the field. It marks his second-highest scoring performance in the NBL, having poured in 50 points when playing for the Melbourne Tigers in 2014. Not many players can score like Goulding, and the Wildcats fell victim to this on Saturday night.