Perth Wildcats have continued their recent dominance over Cairns Taipans with a comfortable 105-83 victory to extend their current winning streak to four games.
Bryce Cotton scored on Perth's opening possession and the visitors never trailed for the rest of Tuesday night's clash at Cairns Convention Centre to make a major statement with their ninth win of the season.
Cotton top-scored for Perth with 24 points while TaShawn Thomas finished the night with 22 points, 12 rebounds and six assists as the Wildcats defeated the Taipans for the tenth straight time.
Thomas dominated the first half with 16 points and the Wildcats nullified Cairns linchpin Keanu Pinder to head into the main break with a 55-40 lead.
After falling behind by 18 early in the third period, the home side mounted an impressive comeback with a run of 14 unanswered points but Perth unleashed a three-point barrage to restore their advantage and break the Taipans' resolve.
American import Thomas was pleased after producing his best game for the Wildcats after missing the early part of the season with an ankle injury.
"Now I didn't even know it was like that but, you know, I'm just glad the hard work's been paying off," Thomas told ESPN after helping Perth win the rebounding count for the first time all season (37-36).
"I've been working all year to try to bounce back from my injury early in the season so it's paying off now."
The night did not start well for the home side with guard Shannon Scott needing treatment after rolling his ankle while Perth's tenacity resulted in six Cairns turnovers while adding 11 second-chance points off the back of five offensive rebounds.
Ben Ayre came off the bench to drill three triples for the Taipans but a late bucket to Thomas capped a 10-point quarter and put Perth ahead 27-17.
Cairns looked to get Pinder more involved after the young gun was held scoreless in the opening term but Brady Manek started heating up and Cotton closed the half with a pair of three-pointers as the lead blew out to 15 points.
Luke Travers opened the second half with a long bomb and Cairns looked in serious trouble with the visitors up 58-40 but DJ Hogg nailed back-to-back triples and Bul Kuol added another as part of a 14-0 run to get the local crowd buzzing.
But Perth struck back from beyond the arc to restore their lead to 14 by the end of the third quarter, reserve guard Michael Harris connecting on two three-pointers on his way to a career-best 17-point haul.
The loss ended the Taipans' three-game unbeaten run and prevented them from joining the New Zealand Breakers and Sydney Kings with an 11-5 record.
