The Roar
The Roar

Advertisement

Melbourne United vs Perth Wildcats: NBL live scores, blog

Roar Guru
19th November, 2017

LIVE SCORES

Scores updated regularly. REFRESH NOW

Melbourne vs Perth

NBL Round 7: Melbourne United v Perth Wildcats

Hisense Arena, Melbourne.
Melbourne Perth
59 SCORE 91
24 Q1 19
9 Q2 30
14 Q3 23
12 Q4 19
Where: Hisense Arena/Margaret Court Arena Vic
When: 3pm AEDT Sunday 19th November
TV: Fox Sports
Last time they met: R3 Perth Wildcats 89 Melbourne United 84

Melbourne United
D Barlow
C Goulding
C Prather
C Ware
J Boone

Bench: D Andersen, K Adnam, T Wesley, M Majok, T Smith-Milner, C Moller, P Hooley.

Perth
D Martin
L Walker
A Brandt
B Cotton
J Wagstaff

Bench: J Kenny, G Hire, C Steindl, R Vague, D Kernich-Drew, D Cooke Jr.
An injury to Casey Prather leaves Melbourne United with a difficult decision to make (Photo by Mark Brake/Getty Images)
Roar Guru
19th November, 2017
59

Match result:

The Perth Wildcats sent an ominous warning to the rest of the NBL competition by smashing Melbourne United by 32 points 91-59.

The deficit was the largest in Melbourne United short history, beating out its previous worst – a 28-point loss in their very first game. Melbourne started the game well but once the Wildcats took the lead they never looked back.

The first quarter started strong for Melbourne while the Wildcats were struggling to score early, the strong tenacious defense that the Wildcats are known for kept them in the game early.

Once the Wildcats found their groove they started to smash United on all ends of the court. A 30 to 9 second quarter all but ended the United chances as Bryce Cotton and Lucas Walker dominated both sides of the court.

Chris Goulding really struggled for Melbourne tallying just two points for the entire game which were through free throws towards the end of the third quarter.

Melbourne showed some signs of life in the 3rd but some questionable foul calls prevented them from making any sort of major run to get back into the game.

The fourth quarter was lacklustre with neither team really trying to do much in fear of injuries to their main players, with over three minutes remaining both teams went deep into their bench for their players.

Advertisement

Damien Martyn suffered a dislocated finger while going for a steal however he was more than willing to get back onto the court in the final term but with the score out of reach of Melbourne he was put back on ice.

For Melbourne they have a lot of questions to answer with a talented squad like theirs they shouldn’t be getting blown out at home the way they were today.

For Perth it gives them confidence winning two games away from home in the round something that will hopefully spark their run towards another championship.

Casey Prather was the lone shining light for Melbourne scoring 20 points, Bryce Cotton led all scorers with 24.

Josh Boone with 12 and Derrick Cooke junior with 14 lead the rebounds for each side.

Despite the score from the Wildcats no player had more than two assists for either team.

Final score
Melbourne United 59
Perth Wildcats 91

Advertisement

Match preview:

Two of the premier powerhouses of the NBL will face off in a mouthwatering clash as Melbourne United take on Perth Wildcats. Join The Roar for a live blog of the match from 3pm AEDT.

The second game of the season between these two teams and the Melbourne United squad will look for revenge after a narrow defeat in the first game. Perth will be playing their second game of the round after a narrow five-point win over the Brisbane Bullets on Friday night.

With such a storied history between these two teams there is always some excitement when both squads take the floor against each other, add to it both teams will be wanting to continue their early season form and consolidate their top four spots.

Perth are coming off the five-point win to the Brisbane Bullets on Friday while the Melbourne United team are coming off a win of their own against the Kings in the previous round by 18 points.

Perth were dealt a blow to their season campaign during the week with one of the best big men in the league announcing his retirement effective immediately, Matthew Knight was a defensive stalwart for the Wildcats in the majority of their recent championships and his loss could be a big blow later on down the stretch of this season.

Damien Martyn vs Chris Goulding looks to be an interesting matchup with one of the best scoring players in the league today facing up against the best defensive player the league has quite possibly seen.

Advertisement

If Martyn can neutralise the impact of Goulding it will go a long way to stopping the United team.

Casper Ware will face up against his former side for the second time this year as the former Wildcats player will look to use his insider knowledge against the reigning champions.

Prediction
This game could shape up to be one of the games of the season and with both teams at near full strength there will be little excuses for the two teams if the scoreboard doesn’t go their way.

For the Wildcats this is the second game of a weekend road trip and some tired legs may come into play late in this game – however if there is one thing we know about Perth, it is count them out at your peril.

Melbourne will look to get the season series leveled back up while also staking their claim as a team who could be poised for a championship run.

Perth Wildcats by 3.

close