Mitsubishi Match Recap: NBL25 Round 17 v Perth Wildcats

Melbourne United have completed a regular season sweep of the Perth Wildcats to rise into third-place on the NBL table.

Keen to push the pace, United started well, as Jack White took a rebound coast-to-coast for the team’s opening score.

He followed this up with a three pointer after a tough Shea Ili mid-ranger, helping Melbourne build some momentum.

Chris Goulding then got in on the action, adding five points of his own before Marcus Lee brought the energy on the defensive end.

The import big-man swatted three shots in his six minutes off the bench, which helped create extra possessions for fellow reserve Ian Clark, who connected on a pair of floaters.

Despite this, a late 10-0 run from the Wildcats allowed the home side to steal back the lead to close the period.

More bench production got the ball rolling for United to start the second, as Tanner Krebs collected two quick buckets from the mid-range and at the hoop.

As the two sides traded the lead it was Jack White who did whatever he could to break the game open for the visitors.

The athletic forward was elite, finishing the half with 14 and eight rebounds on perfect shooting from the field. 

A late Goulding triple was big for the visitors, however a buzzer-beating triple from the Wildcats brought the margin back to three-points at the major break.

Coming out of half time, Melbourne stayed aggressive in the paint, as Lee drove hard from the post for their first score.

While the lead once again changed hands, United showed composure, answering back when Perth went up by five points to retake the lead.

A Goulding and-one finish preceded two three-pointers from Matthew Dellavedova and Flynn Cameron, helping the visitors take a 71-68 advantage into the fourth.

With the game up for grabs, both themes played with a postseason type of intensity.

White highlighted this to start the final period, flying down the court for one of the most powerful dunks of the season.

He rose for another slam shortly following this, bringing his game total up to a career-high 26 points to go along with 16 rebounds.

Leading by five, Ian Clark threatened to put the game to bed, scoring eight unanswered points within a 2 minute span to put Melbourne up by as many as 13 points.

Perth, however, were far from done, going on a run of their own to reduce the advantage to a single point with a little over one minute remaining.

Needing to hold firm, Dellavedova came up with the game-winning plays, finishing an and-one floater before getting into the paint for a fadeaway to give United a comfortable margin down the stretch.

Free throws from Goulding iced the result, giving the visitors a 99-93 victory.

United will be back on the court on Sunday afternoon for the final game of their road stretch against the Brisbane Bullets from 2:30pm.