Melbourne United’s winning streak snapped by Perth

Melbourne United’s 11-game winning streak came to an end on Wednesday night in a top of the table clash against the Perth Wildcats at John Cain Arena.

Turnovers proved costly for United throughout the game and they were unable to gain momentum on the offensive end of the floor.

The first quarter was dominated by defence. Melbourne United’s offence wasn’t helped by giving up rebounds and turning the ball over, but that changed after Dean Vickerman called a time-out four minutes into the game.

That time-out sparked a 7-0 United run which saw Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. get busy with a block and a bucket, as well as a signature Chris Goulding triple. Bryce Cotton stopped Melbourne’s run with his first bucket of the evening, while a Yudai Baba buzzer-beating triple was the highlight of the first term and gave United a seven-point lead, 19-12, at the first break.

Perth dominated the early stages of the second quarter with a 9-0 run to re-take the lead, 21-19, after two and a half minutes of play.

After another Vickerman time-out, Melbourne responded and it was the big man pairing of Jock Landale and Lual-Acuil Jr. who ensured United stayed within touch. Landale scored at will through the middle stages of the quarter, while Lual-Acuil Jr. was blocking shots and when he scored with just under three minutes to play in the first half, Melbourne held a two-point advantage, 36-34.

As those two big men got going, so did Cotton for Perth as he kept the scoreboard ticking over for the visitors and he was the man behind the Wildcats 12-0 run to end the first half. With that scoring run fuelling Perth, they headed into the main break with a 10-point lead, 46-36.

Cotton (13 and 3 assists) and John Mooney (9 points and 8 rebounds) were leading the Wildcats, while Landale (9 points) and Lual-Acuil Jr. (8 points) were impressive for United.

After dominating the final stages of the second quarter, Perth continued that trend in the third quarter as Mooney and Todd Blanchfield scored early to make it a 16-0 Wildcat run dating back to the second quarter.

Landale picked up his fourth foul of the game three minutes into the third quarter and was forced to sit. That kicked off a dominant stretch by Mooney who scored eight points in less than two minutes to have Perth leading by a game-high 19 points, 66-47, with just over two minutes remaining in the term.

Needing a response, it was Melbourne’s second unit – led by Shea Ili and Baba – who led the charge in the final two minutes of the third to get United back into the ball game. A 9-0 run to end the quarter suddenly had Melbourne back to within 10 points at the final break, 66-56.

The fourth quarter was an even tussle early as both teams battled for momentum, but Melbourne was unable to get close enough to make a big run at the lead as Mooney and Cotton answered every challenge.

Eventually, the Wildcats ran out 13-point winners, 82-69, snapping United’s 11-game winning streak.

Melbourne was led by Landale (11 points and 4 rebounds), Lual-Acuil Jr. (8 points, 8 rebounds and 4 blocks), Goulding (10 points) and Baba (10 points). Mooney (30 points and 14 rebounds) was dominant for Perth, while Cotton (16 points and 10 assists) was electric.

Despite the loss, United remains on top of the NBL ladder with a 21-6 record.

Melbourne will look to start a fresh winning streak on Saturday when they take on cross-town rivals the South East Melbourne Phoenix at John Cain Arena. Tip off is at 5:30pm.