Corey Webster has made his 250th NBL appearance a night to remember with his game-winning three-pointer snatching a last-gasp 90-89 triumph for Perth Wildcats over Melbourne United.
United held a five-point lead with nine seconds to play in Monday night's clash at RAC Arena in Perth but blew a golden opportunity to defeat the Wildcats for the 10th time in 11 meetings with a spectacular collapse as Todd Blanchfield and Webster knocked in late triples.
Blanchfield was fouled on a made three-pointer with eight seconds to play but missed the resulting free throw that would have cut the margin to one point.
However, the rebound dropped back into his arms and he quickly found teammate Webster outside the perimeter, the New Zealand veteran calmly slotting the go-ahead basket from long range.
Perth then survived a last-gasp driving effort from Shea Ili to cap an improbable turnaround and record their third win on the trot.
"To be honest, I thought I tied it up with that three. I didn't even know for a second," Webster told ESPN in the aftermath of Perth's improbable come-from-behind win.
Perth led by 14 points in the first quarter then trailed by 14 in the second half as the visitors stepped up their defensive work rate to dominate the middle stages of the game.
But Bryce Cotton dragged the Wildcats back into the contest by leading all scorers with 29 points and Webster's late dagger put the finishing touches on another 20-point haul as his recent hot form continues.
"I'm proud of how we fought through that game. We went up, took a lead, they fought back and then we dug our heels in - that was a great win for us," Webster said as Perth improved to 8-7 and maintained sixth spot on the ladder.
Melbourne made a disastrous start as Cotton and Tashawn Thomas combined to hand Perth a 24-10 lead in the opening quarter but the visitors launched a stunning comeback by scoring 22 of the next 25 points and closing the first half with a six-point edge.
After restricting Perth to 14 points in the second quarter, United kept building on their advantage in the third period to jump ahead 65-51 as their superior rebounding, especially at the offensive end, appeared to be taking its toll on the home side.
But the Wildcats turned the tables with a run of 12 unanswered points and then refused to quit during a tense final quarter, even after United went ahead by eight inside the final minute.
Xavier Rathan-Mayes paced United with 22 points while Chris Goulding (20 points) played a central role in his side's first-half renaissance but the heartbreaking loss leaves Melbourne struggling in eighth spot with a 6-11 record.
