Nick Kay's Perth Wildcats made a winning return to the jungle on Friday night to join the Sydney Kings on top of the NBL ladder.
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Playing their first game in Perth since the weekend before Christmas, the Wildcats produced a dominant second half to smash the South East Melbourne Phoenix 97-71 and pounce on the Kings' slip-up against the New Zealand Breakers just hours earlier.
Both sides now have 15 wins, although the Kings have a game in hand.
Kay had a quiet night comparatively to recent outings but was still one of the Cats' biggest contributors with 10 points, five rebounds, four assists and one block.
After a sluggish first half where both teams were hampered by fouls, the Wildcats broke free in the third, piling on 30 points and extending their advantage to 26 by the final break.
In his 100th NBL game, Bryce Cotton set the tone with 25 points and seven assists.
Mitch Norton was also outstanding, controlling Phoenix live-wire John Roberson on the defensive end while piling on 18 points of his own.
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Coach Trevor Gleeson liked what he saw.
"The guys were good, getting some stops, and then we got some offensive flow. A couple of threes helps that. And I think Majok was giving us second chance points down there," Gleeson said.
"It's part of being a team, rolling with the punches, you can't stay with what's just happened and I thought we did that pretty well."
With Miles Plumlee in foul trouble, Majok Majok stepped up with eight points, 10 rebounds and two assists.
Despite some frustration with fouls, Plumlee was still a problem for the Phoenix offence.
"I just wanted to get minutes into him, he's still finding his way with us. He's going to pick it up, it's just a time thing. Defensively he's pretty damn good," Gleeson said.
Perth were bolstered by a strong support cast with five players hitting double-figures on the scoreboard.
They also out-rebound South East Melbourne by 10, and assisted on 21 of 33 field goals.
They'll look to back-up Friday's performance when they play the Breakers at RAC Arena next Saturday (Januiary 25).
