‘Unreal’ evening one United won’t forget quickly

For Melbourne United, Saturday night’s blockbuster win over the Perth Wildcats brought something for everyone.

With the roof open at John Cain Arena, a sold-out crowd witnessed perhaps the game of the season, which surrounded a spectacular fireworks display at half-time.

Adding to all the drama was the litany of huge baskets from Melbourne stars that got the home side into overtime and ultimately secured them the victory.

Speaking after the game, Head Coach Dean Vickerman touched on why the game will go down in history as one of the most memorable games of his career.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/URYx214QFww?si=_6oo9urKsL3LA066" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>

“There were so many big plays,” he said.

“I had good confidence that he (Jo Lual-Acuil Jr) was going to knock those two (free-throws) in but once it bounced up it was a little bit scary.

“The fadeaway jumper he (JLA) made with one second left on the shotclock (was huge)… We couldn’t get the ball inbounds to Shea on the CG triple but then we got it in and got it to where we wanted it. (Ian Clark) banking (a three-pointer) with 1.4 left on the clock on a sideline out of bounds.”

“It was a packed out house for us, I heard the fireworks were unreal. We talk about this kind of being an iconic game in Melbourne right now, a must-go-to kind of game so it was a privilege for us to play in it.

“We obviously didn’t want that kind of close game but we learned a lot from it. It was nice to pull that one out.”

One of the men responsible for producing so many of those huge plays was Ian Clark, who scored 13 of his 25 points in the extra period.

An NBA champion with the Golden State Warriors, Clark said this Open Air Game was one of the biggest games of his career.

“For sure… it’s definitely one of the bigger games that I’ve played in,” he explained.

“It’s hard not to get up for. You try to make it a regular game as much as possible but we know how much goes into it and how everyone is talking about it.

“It lived up to (the hype) but I’m just glad we got the win, especially going into this break.”

United will next face off against the Cairns Taipans on the road on New Year’s Eve.

Fans can tune in on ESPN via Kayo and Foxtel.