Bryce Cotton was back to his old self as he lifted the Perth Wildcats to a pressure-easing NBL victory and declared he felt like the three-time MVP winning version of himself for the first time this season.
After his 29-point showing on Saturday night in the 99-88 win over the Adelaide 36ers at RAC Arena, Cotton's message was simple about his bounce-back performance.
"It feels good, I won't lie, to have my first game coming out like this," Cotton said.
"I don't know who that other guy was wearing my jersey for the first seven games. It feels good to be back."
Since Cotton joined the Wildcats midway through the 2016-17 NBL season, he has proven an unstoppable force, winning three league MVP awards along with leading Perth to three championships.
However, his start to this season had been anything but up to his usual standards and things hit a precarious point following last Friday's loss at home to a shorthanded Brisbane Bullets.
Not only was it a fourth consecutive loss for the 'Cats, but Cotton struggled on 3-of-19 shooting for 10 points and fingers were being pointed in all directions over where the problems stemmed from.
Cotton's wife, Rachel, venting in defence of her husband on social media didn't help matters either and it was a long eight days to wait to play arch-rivals the Adelaide 36ers back at RAC Arena.
It might not have been the perfect Wildcats performance as they gave up a 20-point third quarter lead and then had to come from behind to win, but the 99-88 victory steadied things.
Cotton put the team on his back and Hyrum Harris was hugely influential even if his numbers of nine points and six rebounds don't tell close to the story.
Cotton helped the 'Cats lead 50-44 by halftime and then to open up a 20-point lead in the third quarter with three bombs from downtown. He ended with 29 points and four assists on 6-of-14 three-point shooting.
The 31-year-old who has now played 208 games with the Wildcats never doubted that his form would return.
"I've always been a rhythm player so no matter if I'm in a slump at the moment or whatever, I know all it takes is one shot or given these circumstances, one game for me to find the rhythm," Cotton said.
"I definitely felt that out there, but credit to my teammates. They did a great job looking for me, setting good screen and helping me get open. It was a great team effort but luckily I was able to capitalise on it."
The Wildcats take on the league leading Melbourne United on the road on Monday night, who are fresh, fully healthy with the return of Matthew Dellavedova and on a six-game winning run.
