The Perth Wildcats have jumped to fourth place on the NBL ladder after turning an early headache into a hard-fought 101-95 win over the Tasmania JackJumpers.
Kristian Doolittle (30 points, 5-of-7 three-pointers), David Duke Jr (19pts) and Jo Lual-Acuil Jr (19pts) starred at Perth's RAC Arena on Friday as the Wildcats (8-5) inflicted Tasmania's sixth successive defeat.
Josh Bannan (29 points, nine rebounds) and acting captain Majok Deng (26, 11) were valiant for the sixth-ranked JackJumpers (5-9), who are still missing several injured players, headlined by skipper Will Magnay (knee).
"We found a way to win, but there is a level of disappointment with the way we closed the game," Perth coach John Rillie said.
"Sunday will be a great challenge to see where we're at," he added, looking towards their weekend visit to Melbourne.
"We've got to tidy up some things if we really want to get to that championship level consistently."
Bannan was unstoppable early, helping the JackJumpers to a 13-4 headstart, before Perth hit back, piloted by Doolittle.
The American poured in 13 points for the term, including three threes, sparking an 11-2 run to give the Wildcats a 32-28 quartertime lead, which they never relinquished.
The perimeter shooting of both sides was a feature in the opening period, Perth going 6-of-9 and Tasmania 6-of-10.
The momentum swung throughout the second stanza but the Jackies, led by Bannan and Majok Deng, couldn't capture the lead back and it was the Wildcats up 57-52 at the half.
Tassie went cold in the third, while Duke lit it up for Perth at the other end.
The Wildcats' buffer ballooned to 16 points before the JackJumpers scored the last six points of the term to slash the gap to 81-71 at three-quarter-time.
Perth threatened to derail late, copping back-to-back technicals against Lual-Acuil - his disqualifying fifth foul - and the bench with 2:59 remaining, on top of a regulation foul.
Deng drained all four free throws, but the JackJumpers, though spirited, were unable to significantly close the margin as the clock continued to tick down.
"I loved the fight, but the foul discipline is a thing we're constantly harping on," Tasmania coach Scott Roth said.
"When you give up 35 foul shots on the road, it's really difficult to overcome."
