United outlast Wildcats in heavyweight overtime battle

Ian Clark has played hero in overtime after Bryce Cotton and Chris Goulding waged a brilliant shooting war as Melbourne United held off the Perth Wildcats under the stars two days before Christmas.

With the John Cain Arena roof wide open the NBL heavyweights lived up to the bill, the hosts eventually prevailing 109-103 on Saturday night.

Clark hit two huge triples and scored 13 overtime points after Goulding and Wildcats star Cotton had traded blows across 40 minutes.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Ian Clark absolutely ?????? the OT dagger ??<br><br>Catch the action live on ESPN via Kayo <a href="https://t.co/zrPq7jbI3A">pic.twitter.com/zrPq7jbI3A</a></p>&mdash; NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1738520694655168832?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 23, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

It was the teams' second overtime clash this season, United improving to 14-3 to stay clear of the Wildcats (9-7) in second.

It was a night full of starring performances with Clark top-scoring for Melbourne with 25 points on 5-of-7 three-point shooting as the NBL and NBA champion showed his quality.

Former Wildcat Luke Travers added 20 points, eight rebounds, five assists and three steals with MVP fancy Goulding delivering another 19 points on 4-of-15 three-point shooting.

Jo Lual-Aculi added 18 points and eight rebounds before fouling out while another NBA champion, Matthew Dellavedova lacked his usual bite and was restricted to under 20 minutes and went scoreless with three turnovers.

Cotton was phenomenal for Perth despite the physical attention applied to him all evening by Melbourne guard Shea Ili. The three-time MVP played every second of the 45 minutes of the game to finish with 36 points, five rebounds and three assists with 6-of-11 shooting from beyond the arc.

Fellow import Jordan Usher stepped up for 23 points with Keanu Pinder adding 15 points, nine rebounds, five steals and four assists.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">That is just what Bryce Cotton ???? ?<br><br>Catch this thrilling ending live on ESPN via Kayo <a href="https://t.co/v4e5yWtW5B">pic.twitter.com/v4e5yWtW5B</a></p>&mdash; NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1738515113466888612?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 23, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Cotton bobbed up with two big shots to give Perth a 12-point buffer late in the third quarter. But they froze to begin the fourth and the hosts charged back into the picture.

Travers made back-to-back shots to draw Melbourne within a bucket of his former team and they edged ahead with seven minutes to go.

Goulding then got open and drilled a triple to make it a seven-point game with four minutes remaining. But two United turnovers and Cotton's re-emergence with a contested triple made it 91-87 in favour of Perth inside the final minute.

Goulding made a similarly tough triple in reply and Cotton was on target with one of his two free throws to create a two-point buffer.

With 19 seconds on the clock Goulding raced to the rim, his attempt rebounded by teammate Lual-Acuil, who was fouled.

His first free throw bounced twice off the iron before dramatically dropping in and he flushed his second to tie the game with two seconds on the clock.

Cotton couldn't work a miracle and the teams were forced into overtime to decide the winner for the second time this season.

Clark took the lead, creating a five-point buffer with a step-back triple as he scored eight of his team's first 10 overtime points.

He wasn't done, though, banking a long triple off the glass to all-but seal the win with one minute to play.

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL ROUND 12

MELBOURNE UNITED 109 (Clark 25, Travers 20, Goulding 19)

PERTH WILDCATS 103 (Cotton 36, Usher 23, Pinder 15)

BOX SCORE