A man of the match performance from Casey Prather has led the Perth Wildcats to a 1-0 lead in the 2016-17 NBL grand final series over the Illawarra Hawks recording a 12-point victory at the Perth Arena.
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Final score
Perth Wildcats 89
Illawarra Hawks 77
In what has been one of the best NBL seasons in recent memory just two teams remain. The Perth Wildcats and Illawarra Hawks will battle it out to be crowned the 2016-2017 NBL champions. Join The Roar for live scores from the match and a live blog of Game 1, starting from 7pm AEDT.
Perth are looking to go back to back as champs after beating the New Zealand Breakers last year. Illawarra are in their first championship series in seven years, where they again faced the Perth Wildcats.
Perth steamrolled the Cairns Taipans in their semi-final series, sweeping the three-game series 2-0. Illawarra needed all three games to overcome the minor premiers Adelaide 2-1.
Damien Martyn will be the Perth player to watch with his elite defensive skills he will look to lock down Rotnei Clarke as best he can.
Illawarra will be hoping that AJ Ogilvy is healthy after he left the Hawks previous match early in the first quarter, Perth has a couple of talented big men and without Ogilvy it will make it very difficult for the Hawks to get the win.
Illawarra will have just a three-day break while the Wildcats are well rested after a six-day break.
Amazingly after being in the position of almost missing finals and ultimately finishing third, the dominos have quickly fallen in Perth’s favour to give them a home advantage in this series.
While the Wildcats are well-rested, the Hawks have had a chance to keep playing games and this can often be a blessing in disguise.
However, the quick turnaround and the trip across Australia may prove too much for the Hawks in the opening game.
Prediction
Wildcats 9 points.
Join The Roar for live scores from the match and a live blog of Game 1, starting from 7pm AEDT.
Sam Walker
Roar Guru
That rebounding performance was shocking, they were leading at halftime and then had i think 8 for the rest of the game. Unbelievable to see. Hawks will hopefully be watching nothing but game tapes on the flight back home.
Sam Walker
Roar Guru
Perth far too good in the 2nd half cruise to a 12 point win over the Illawarra Hawks, Perth 89 Illawarra 77. Casey Prather was the star performer in the game scoring a game high 22 points. Rebounding was the big story of the game with the Wildcats dominating the offensive glass taking an 11 rebound advantage. Matthew Knight and Bryce Cotton chipped in with 18 points a piece for the Wildcats, The Hawks just couldn't get into a good rhythm after the half time break and fell away. The Hawks tried a late fight back midway through the fourth but costly turnovers and being unable to get the rebounds proved too costly, Illawarra will take the series home with them on Wednesday where they will hope to try and take back the series momentum. Perth will look to try and improve their first half in the second game which was well under their best. Game leaders. Points Perth Wildcats Illawarra Hawks C. Prather 22 12 C. Ellis B. Cotton 18 11 R. Martin M. Knight 18 11 R. Clarke Rebounds Perth Wildcats Illawarra Hawks M. Knight 11 6 A. Ogilvy B. Cotton 6 4 K. White J. McKay 6 4 T. Coenraad Assists Perth Wildcats Illawarra Hawks D. Martin 5 6 R. Clarke C. Prather 5 3 M. Norton B. Cotton 4 3 T. Coenraad Team stats. Stat Perth Wildcats Illawarra Hawks FG 33/74 (44%) 27/55 (49%) Assists 21 20 Rebounds 40 29 Steals 7 5 Blocks 2 2 Turnovers 9 15 Bench Points 18 37 Player of the Game Casey Prather of the Wildcats.
Scott Pryde
Expert
Illawarra are really going to need to tighten up for the rest of the series. Too many turnovers and a poor rebounding effort, probably not helped by a zone defence that seemed a little ineffective to me against Prather and Cotton. Cheers Sam.
Sam Walker
Roar Guru
Game over Perth take the first game of the series. Perth Wildcats 89 Illawarra Hawks 77 Series score Perth Wildcats 1 Illawarra Hawks 0 best of 5 game series.
Sam Walker
Roar Guru
Prather drives the lane and scores with a nice little up and under layup. Perth Wildcats 89 Illawarra Hawks 77 30 left in the game
Sam Walker
Roar Guru
Cotton with a falling 3 point shot but it was tipped by Prather before going through. Perth Wildcats 87 Illawarra Hawks 77 36 seconds left in the game
Sam Walker
Roar Guru
Knight with a tip in, Hawks answer back immediately still a 9 point game. Prather with a nice little shot and is fouled he goes to the line and misses Perth Wildcats 85 Illawarra Hawks 77 2:00 left in the game
Sam Walker
Roar Guru
Now the Wildcats call a timeout. Perth Wildcats 81 Illawarra Hawks 72 3:16 left in the game
Sam Walker
Roar Guru
Knight with a nice little baby hook shot and it is a 9 point lead. Timeout Hawks. Perth Wildcats 81 Illawarra Hawks 72 3:16 left in the game
Sam Walker
Roar Guru
Cotton gets a 2 and the Wildcats push the lead to 7. Perth Wildcats 79 Illawarra Hawks 72 3:36 left in the game
Sam Walker
Roar Guru
McKay fouls Kay and he will go to the line for 2. Makes the first Makes the second. Perth Wildcats 77 Illawarra Hawks 72 4:47 left in the game
Sam Walker
Roar Guru
Prather goes around the defenders misses the layup but gets the rebound and tips it back in. Perth Wildcats 77 Illawarra Hawks 70 5:03 left in the game
Sam Walker
Roar Guru
Prather gets a runner to drop. Hawks get a foul down their end and Ogilvy will take the shots. Misses the first Makes the second Perth Wildcats 75 Illawarra Hawks 70 6:00 left in the game
Sam Walker
Roar Guru
Martin is a fantastic defender. Harasses Clarke into a mistake and he dives on the ball. Timeout called. Perth Wildcats 73 Illawarra Hawks 69 6:18 left in the game
Sam Walker
Roar Guru
Prather with the steal and runs the court for a nice 1 handed slam. Perth Wildcats 73 Illawarra Hawks 69 7:00 left in the game
Sam Walker
Roar Guru
Ellis is firing up he drills another 2. Perth Wildcats 71 Illawarra Hawks 69 7:30 left in the game
Sam Walker
Roar Guru
Martin at the line for the Wildcats. Misses the first Makes the second. Perth Wildcats 71 Illawarra Hawks 67 7:52 left in the game
Sam Walker
Roar Guru
Ellis makes a nice layup under the ring. Perth Wildcats 70 Illawarra Hawks 67 8:00 left in the game
Sam Walker
Roar Guru
Wildcats cleaning the glass with multiple offensive rebounds. Wagstaff gets fouled and will shoot 2. Makes them both, Perth Wildcats 70 Illawarra Hawks 65 8:34 left in the game
Sam Walker
Roar Guru
Ellis launches from long range and nothing but net for the Hawks player. Perth Wildcats 68 Illawarra Hawks 65 9:00 left in the game