Spectacular shooting from Bryce Cotton has ensured Perth Wildcats celebrated their much-anticipated homecoming in style with a crushing 93-75 victory over Cairns Taipans at RAC Arena.
The newly-minted NBL Cup champions never trailed and fed off a red-hot Cotton as the regular season resumed on Friday night.
The reigning MVP hit six three-pointers and scored 18 of his game-high 28 points in a sizzling first-half, where the Wildcats opened up an early double-digit lead and never let the Taipans back in the contest.
It wasn't a one-man show with John Mooney (21 points and eight rebounds) and Todd Blanchfield (17 points) supporting Cotton, while Scott Machado (16 points) and Kouat Noi (14 points) tried hard for the cold-shooting visitors.
The Wildcats (10-4) powered to the top of the ladder, a far cry for the hapless Taipans (4-13) who remain anchored at the bottom.
Due to COVID-19 restrictions in Western Australia, the Wildcats had been forced to relocate since an agonising one-point loss to South East Melbourne Phoenix on January 29.
"It was a focus to set the tone early and we were able to back it up for the rest of the game, which was pleasing," Wildcats coach Trevor Gleeson said.
Buoyed by a frenetic crowd of 9,997 fans, the Wildcats launched a three-point avalanche and raced to a 16-4 lead within the opening five minutes.
A desperate Taipans inserted imposing centre Nathan Jawai, who put the Wildcats' interior defence under immediate pressure but the home side could not be stopped on offence as they rattled together a season-best 31-point first quarter.
Cotton, whose first 13 field goal attempts were threes, nailed consecutive bombs from behind the arc to start the second stanza and increase the Wildcats' lead to 17 points.
The league's leading scorer then outdid himself with a spectacular four-point play after dribbling between his legs and draining a three while being fouled.
The visitors were in the midst of being blown away until Noi scored seven quick points to briefly stem the tide.
Cotton hit his final three-pointer shortly after half-time as the Wildcats cruised to their eighth victory from nine starts.
"They were shooting the ball well and got comfortable, while we got a bit trigger shy," Taipans coach Mike Kelly said.
It will be a short turnaround for both teams with the Taipans travelling to Sydney to play the Kings on Sunday, while the Wildcats host Adelaide 36ers on Monday.
