Bryce Cotton's brilliance has propelled the Perth Wildcats to a comprehensive 92-76 win over an off-target Adelaide 36ers outfit at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre.
Cotton (27 points, seven assists, 6-of-10 three-pointers) torched the Sixers in the middle two quarters and fellow import Vic Law (22 points, 11 rebounds) dictated the second half, after Todd Blanchfield (22 points, nine boards) had the Wildcats firing early.
Daniel Johnson (19 points, 12 rebounds) and surprise packet Tad Dufelmeier (15, six rebounds) led the way for the 36ers whose big-man stocks took another hit.
With Isaac Humphries (knee) sidelined long-term and Cam Bairstow ruled out after falling ill against South East Melbourne Phoenix on Friday night, Filipino centre Kai Sotto exited Sunday's match with a corked thigh.
The Sixers, incredibly, had more field goal attempts than Perth (85-57), significantly more offensive rebounds (22-5) and far fewer turnovers (6-12), but their horrendous shooting was the story of the afternoon.
Adelaide connected at a lowly 30 per cent from the floor and 19 per cent from three-point territory, while the Wildcats were hot from the outset.
"I thought offensively we clicked pretty well, we were pretty efficient, shot a good percentage and made the most of our opportunities," Perth coach Scott Morrison said.
"Defensively, it was a bittersweet effort ... any time you give up 22 offensive rebounds, you have to feel pretty fortunate that you came away with the win."
Blanchfield had 17 points in the first quarter, including 4-of-4 from outside, as Perth led 27-20 at quarter time, thanks to an 18-4 headstart.
The Little Master Cotton took over in the second period, rifling 13 points and helping stretch the Wildcats' advantage to 50-34 at halftime before Law's interior toughness kept Perth on top in the third.
Behind Johnson, Adelaide closed the 76-60 three-quarter time deficit to 78-71 with 5:56 to play.
It was all the Wildcats from that point, the visitors scoring 14 of the last 16 points to sail home and consign the Sixers to their fourth successive defeat, including their last three at home.
"If a couple of finishes had gone in, or if we hit a couple of those threes, we could have stayed a bit closer," stand-in 36ers coach Jamie Pearlman said.
"We had a real hard time with Blanch in the first quarter and Bryce killed us in the second.
"Their talent kept their scoreboard rolling over and we found it really hard to defend those guys."
