Mitsubishi Match Recap: NBL25 Playoff Series Game 1 v Perth Wildcats

Melbourne United have secured a crucial Game 1 victory in their best-of-three Playoff Series against the Perth Wildcats on Thursday evening.

Showing no signs of rust following 19 days without a game, Chris Goulding connected on his opening triple of the game, setting the tone for what would be a big night for Melbourne’s captain.

Elite defence and playmaking helped United pull ahead by as many as ten points, with Dellavedova, White, Cameron, Krebs, Lee and Ili all hitting the scoreboard.

The Wildcats were able to hit back, cutting the margin to five points to close the period.

Needing to maintain momentum, Ian Clark entered the game and made his presence felt, scoring 16 points to help buoy his side.

White helped out across this stretch, knocking down a three-pointer, however Perth stayed within touching distance before ultimately pulling ahead 50-49 in the dying moments of the quarter.

The Wildcats would have been hoping to hold onto this advantage, however five quick points from White flipped the lead, which United were able to hold onto for the remainder of the term.

Shea Ili was huge across this stretch, playing suffocating defence on whoever was in front of him.

Goulding then threatened to break the game open, catching fire from deep and splashing four three pointers to bring the John Cain Arena crowd to their feet.

This, as well as a few timely buckets from Clark, put Melbourne up 81-71 with 10 minutes remaining.

While the Wildcats were able to score seven unanswered points to start the final period, the night belonged to Chris Goulding.

CG43 connected on five more three-pointers, bringing his total up to 10 for the night, which equalled the most ever in a postseason game in NBL history.

It also saw his leapfrog CJ Bruton and John Rillie for the fourth-most three-pointers in NBL postseason history.

On the back of this elite performance, United finished with a 105-93 victory and a 1-0 advantage in the Playoff Series.

Melbourne will take the court in Game 2 in Perth from 8pm on Saturday evening. The game will be streamed live on ESPN.