Nick Kay produced another strong game in a defeat of his old club, the Illawarra Hawks, sinking 18 points and pulling in 10 rebounds as an injury-depleted Perth Wildcats beat the Illawarra Hawks 90-81 at Wollongong’s WIN Entertainment Centre on Sunday night.
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It followed his 12-point game in a 90-87 win over Brisbane at Perth’s RAC Arena on Friday night.
After leading by as many as 17 in the second quarter against the Hawks, the Wildcats let the margin drop to six midway through the final period before steadying down the stretch to extend their lead atop the table at 7-1.
Kay and Mitch Norton combined for 28 points against their former team, while centre Tom Jervis finished with six points and 11 rebounds.
Reigning MVP Bryce Cotton was typically brilliant with 19 points, while Clint Steindl answered the bell with 18 off the bench, connecting on his first five shots from three-point territory.
Perth coach Trevor Gleeson described it as a character-building win.
"Those kinds of wins show a lot of character and we're starting to believe in ourselves," Gleeson said.
"We were really tired at the end and our execution got a little sloppy, but we came out really aggressively and got a good start, and Mitch was fantastic down the stretch.
"It was a gutsy win. The character of the group is great, guys are trusting each other and we've got some hard workers."
As they often do, Perth outworked their opponents under the glass, easily winning the rebound battle 52-40.
Cedric Jackson and Todd Blanchfield finished with 16 points each for the Hawks, while David Andersen had 12 off the bench.
Picking up where he left off against the Brisbane Bullets with 37 points and the game-winner on Friday, Cotton was virtually unguardable, toying with defenders on the way to 10 quick points.
Perth built an eight-point lead which quickly grew when Steindl entered the fray and immediately started splashing threes like he was Klay Thompson.
He made four without a miss, as the Cats surged to a 36-21 quarter-time lead.
Steindl hit his fifth three to start the second period and the margin was soon up to 17.
The Hawks picked up their effort and started executing their offence more effectively but were unable to get the deficit under double figures.
Perth gave the home team a lesson on how to get on the glass, hustling their way to 29 rebounds to Illawarra’s 18.
The Wildcats held a 54-42 half-time lead, with Steindl (15 points) and Cotton (10) the standouts.
Jordair Jett, Jackson and Andersen had eight apiece for the Hawks, who missed eight of their 11 three-point attempts.
Perth continued to control the game in the third period, taking a 71-59 lead into the final quarter.
Illawarra came home strongly, cutting the deficit to five with 28 seconds remaining. But the damage had all been done in the first half and the Hawks dropped to 3-5 for the season.
Illawarra coach Rob Beveridge lamented another poor start by his side.
"The most disappointing part is what happened in the first quarter - I can't stand it when we get outworked," Beveridge said.
"We were completely outworked with our energy, our enthusiasm and getting to loose balls. We have to get better at being locked in from the very start and staying locked in.
"We got absolutely smashed in the rebounding and missed 10 free throws. That's why we lost. I'm proud of the guys' fightback but we let ourselves down."
Both teams are back on deck next Saturday in Round 6 - the Hawks on the road against Adelaide and the Wildcats away to Cairns.
