IT WAS a dominant performance from the Perth Wildcats in Round 11 of the National Basketball League (NBL) on Thursday night, smothering Chris Goulding and defeating the ladder-leading Melbourne United by 12 points.

The Wildcats hosted United at RAC Arena in the second match of Thursday’s double-header after the Illawarra Hawks claimed a thrilling four-point win over the SEM Phoenix in an exciting start to a big night of hoops.

Despite having home court advantage, the Wildcats came into the contest as underdogs given Melbourne had lost just two games prior to the international break and has been the team to beat throughout the 2025/26 season. Perth has been a contender in its own right, coming into the clash sitting in fourth spot, but besting United has been a task too tall for most sides this year.

However, the Wildcats came out with a clear objective to put the pressure back on Melbourne and it was a plan that worked superbly, as Perth snagged one of the most impressive wins of the season with a double-digit victory over the championship favourite.

Perth Wildcats (96) def. Melbourne United (84)

The Wildcats set the tone from the get-go with a blistering opening frame, firing the first shot on the offensive end and tearing apart United’s typically strong defence. The home side put an immense amount of pressure on the rim, leading 16-2 in the opening minutes of the frame to stun Melbourne, and although the visitors fought back, they still trailed by 13 points at the first change in a terrific start for Perth.

The action was a lot closer in the second frame, but every United run was answered by a Wildcats outfit that was showing plenty of toughness against a quality opponent. Melbourne had improved and the Wildcats’ offensive production slowed down a bit, but the margin still moved out to 14 points at the main change in a stirring performance.

The third quarter was more dominance from the Wildcats, but this time it came on the defensive end, with the hosts absolutely smothering the opposition. United simply could not find any time or space on the offensive end, and it thwarted their chances of getting back in the game. Melbourne was held to just 15 points for the quarter as the Wildcats took a 19-point lead into the final change, completely in control of the match.

Melbourne did deliver its best performance of the match in the final term, but it was in vain as the Wildcats had already slammed the door shut with a stirring performance in the opening three quarters. The margin ended up being a more respectable 12 points, but Melbourne still could not complete the miracle comeback.

The defensive pressure of the Wildcats was a huge factor in determining the result, holding the star trio of Goulding, Milton Doyle and Tyson Walker to just four points in the first half on a combined 1/15 shooting. An under the weather Goulding was held scoreless for the match, having nailed a triple in 109 consecutive games coming into the clash.

For the Wildcats, it was a terrific team performance, with five players finishing with double-digits in the points column. Former United center Jo Lual-Acuil led the way with 18 points, four rebounds and three blocks, while David Duke Jr. (15 points, five rebounds, four assists and some great defence on Walker), Dylan Windler (13 points, seven rebounds, four assists), Kristian Doolittle (12 points, nine boards, seven dimes) and David Okwera (11 points, four rebounds) all impressed.

Despite a disappointing result for the team overall, it is hard to knock the performance of Tanner Krebs on Thursday night. The United forward gave all he could on the offensive end despite the heavy flow of traffic going the other way, finishing with a game-high 29 points on 12/14 shooting from the field and 4/5 shooting from long range.

Both teams will now look towards highly anticipated matchups later in the round, with United looking to bounce back in another instalment of the Throwdown Series against the Phoenix, while the Wildcats will welcome Bryce Cotton back to RAC Arena for the first time in an Adelaide 36ers jersey, with both games taking place on Sunday.