THE latest round of the National Basketball League (NBL) kicked off in style, with two of the competition’s best sides opening proceedings. Round 15’s first match saw Melbourne United host the Perth Wildcats at John Cain Arena on Thursday night, in a rematch of last year’s grand final.

It was a hotly anticipated clash, given the two sides have played at an extremely high level throughout the season, and while United were slim favourites (as they sat atop the standings heading into the round), there was a chance this clash could go down to the wire, and that’s exactly what happened.

The two teams produced a stunning display of basketball for all four quarters, and whenever the Wildcats looked to get a game-breaking lead, United seemed to find a way to trim the margin back. in the end, Perth proved too good, bursting away late to claim a 10-point win on the road.

In a game chock full of superstars, there was one that stood out above the rest, with Perth forward Victor Law producing a dominant display to claim Player of the Match honours.

FIRST QUARTER

Law got off to a ripping start, using his impressive ability to score off the dribble and sinking a pull-up mid-range shot. From here, he struggled to shake the defensive clamps of Jack White, who had taken some impressive scalps throughout the season. He found a wide-open Mitch Norton to register his first assist of the match, displaying his underrated court vision. Law closed out the term with a couple of boards and an impressive block as his side grabbed an early lead.

SECOND QUARTER

Things could not have got off to a better start in the second period, as Law stripped United guard Shea Ili and dished out a nice dime to Norton for his second assist of the match. In the minutes that followed he added a lay-up and three crucial defensive rebounds, as his side was struggling on the glass outside of his efforts. After a short stint on the benc, Law returned to the game and continued to crash the glass in style. He found a cutting Norton again in the last minute of the term, to have a nice balanced statline heading into the main break.

THIRD QUARTER

Law resumed his impressive rebounding ways to start the second half, pulling down a number of Melbourne misses with ferocious intent. While his offensive game went through a bit of a slump here, Law was still able to impact the game in other ways, including rebounding and some handy defensive work. He got his game rolling when he drew the shooting foul from Ili and drained the jumpshot to make it a three-point play. Law added another two points with a nice hookshot and by the time the third period ended, Law was beginning to truly make his mark in the game.

FOURTH QUARTER

After starting the term on the bench, Law entered the game with eight minutes on the clock, and made an immediate impact. He pulled down a big defensive board and drained the pull-up two-pointer down the other end, giving Perth a five-point lead in doing so. One of his strongest plays of the night came a few minutes later, when the forward pulled down the offensive rebound, found a wide-open Bryce Cotton for three, and then nailed the putback when Cotton’s shot was wayward. He continued to crash the offensive glass, and kept his scoring game going with some impressive work inside the paint to close out the game, registering a pair of baskets in the final few minutes. In the end, Law finished with a mammoth double-double of 20 points and 18 rebounds and just beat out Norton for the best performer on the night.