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MELBOURNE stole the show across NBL Round 12, its open roof overtime classic with Perth setting a standard it will be difficult to duplicate, Ian Clark's 13-point haul in the five-minute extension keeping United on track, Bryce Cotton delivering a 36-point game to leave no doubt who genuinely is the league's No.1 MVP candidate.

No disrespect intended toward United's Chris Goulding who is enjoying a career year, but he is a long way off Cotton's consistent level and to say otherwise is to either be somewhat delusional or on the NBL payroll.

What a night this was though for the capacity 10,175 in attendance. A balmy evening evolving into a beautiful night, the show itself around the game, with halftime fireworks ... as said earlier, this will take some repeating.

The game itself? A gem and excellent example of how good the NBL can be at its best.

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REGAINING star import Zylan Cheatham and superstar Aussie William McDowell-White from injury was big for the Breakers, even though Cheatham stayed anchored to the bench and WMW saw less than a quarter of action.

Opening strongly to lead 29-17 after one, then taking the best Sydney had to offer before unloading a 33-15 third period, New Zealand looked every bit a playoff outfit, with its very best yet to come.

NEW ZEALAND BREAKERS 109 (Lamb 24, Rubstavicius, Jackson-Cartwright 17, Le'afa 15, Mathiang 14, Abercrombie 10; Mathiang 5 rebs; Jackson-Cartwright 9 assts) d SYDNEY KINGS 101 (Noi 19, Toohey, Hogg 15, Adams 14, Hunter 10; Toohey 7 rebs; Hogg 8 assts) at Spark Arena. Crowd: 5,228

ALAN Williams stayed clear of foul trouble but Cairns was in a mood and with Sam Waardenburg enjoying his best return of the season and no shortage of teammates hitting shots, this soon became a question of how badly would South East be beaten.

Gary Browne had a devil of a game with 666 - 6 points, 6 assists, 6 turnovers - but he had more than a few mates overcome by the tropical humidity.

CAIRNS TAIPANS 94 (Waardenburg 20, Miller 17, Kuol 15, Mennenga 13; McCall 8 rebs; Miller 9 assts) d SOUTH EAST MELBOURNE PHOENIX 75 (Williams 29, Te Rangi 14, Nader 12; Williams 8 rebs; Browne 6 assts) at Cairns Convention Centre. Crowd: 3,651

A 23-10 opening quarter set the tone for this game, disappointing fans in Wollongong but restoring Tasmania to the winner's list, with six double-digit scorers, four off them off the bench!

The JackJumpers looked like the team Illawarra is working hard to be, the future bright for both outfits, Tasmania just further along on this journey.

TASMANIA JACK JUMPERS 100 (Crawford 20, Steindl 15, Magnay 13, MacDonald, McVeigh 11, Deng 10; Magnay 7 rebs; Doyle 7 assts) d ILLAWARRA HAWKS 89 (Froling 22, Clark 18, Harvey 12; Froling 11 rebs; Robinson, Harvey 5 assts) at WIN Entertainment Centre. Crowd: 4,037

A BRILLIANT game that went into overtime, Ian Clark then put on a show with 13 of Melbourne's 17 points in the five-minute extension coming off his sizzling hot hand.

Bryce Cotton dazzled despite being under enormous defensive pressure from tip to siren, Jo Lual-Acuil keeping the ecstatic crowd on its toes with two free throws to force overtime, the first one bobbling and bouncing before finding the inside of the ring. 

MELBOURNE UNITED 109 (Clark 25, Travers 20, Goulding 19, Lual-Acuil 18; Hukporti 12 rebs; Ili 7 assts) d PERTH WILDCATS 103 (Cotton 36, Usher 23, Pinder 15; Pinder 9 rebs; Pinder, Doolittle 4 assts) in overtime {92-92} at John Cain Arena. Crowd: 10,175

JACOB Wiley simply would not let Adelaide lose this game, flying for a game-high 12 rebounds, delivering 21 points at 75 per cent and sending a Josh Bannan shot attempt high into the stands to leave no doubting that "No, No," we aren't losing today.

Nathan Sobey led the Bullets with a season-best 36 points as the 36ers weathered Brisbane's comeback attempts before rewarding interim coach Scott Ninnis with his first W.

ADELAIDE 36ERS 95 (Vasiljevic 23, Wiley 21, Kell 18, Humphries 14; Wiley 12 rebs; Vasiljevic 6 assts) d BRISBANE BULLETS 88 (Sobey 36, McDaniel 16, Harrison 9; Bannan 10 rebs; Norton Sobey 2 assts) at Adelaide Entertainment Centre. Crowd: 9,440

SOUTH East's win over Sydney with a depleted team was something, but knocking off Tasmania without Mitch Creek, with Alan Williams on four fouls in the first half, losing Reuben Te Rangi to injury and also down Gorjok Gak, was an amazing accomplishment and feat.

Whoever thought of the Jackies wearing special Christmassy uniforms may be wondering in hindsight if that was a good idea as it appeared to negatively impact their effort levels. No working elves here as Gary Browne owned this one, with Abdel Nader also showing further positive signs. 

SOUTH EAST MELBOURNE PHOENIX 85 (Browne, Nader 20, Kenyon 12, Williams 11, Ayre 10; Browne 11 rebs; Browne 6 assts) d TASMANIA JACKJUMPERS 77 (McVeigh 20, Doyle 18, Crawford 12; Magnay 11 rebs; Crawford 4 assts)  at MyState Bank Arena. Crowd: 4,340

TO recover from an 18-point deficit at 17-35 down and to win as strongly as Illawarra did is further testament to the job interim coach Justin Tatum is doing with the Hawks.

Lachlan Olbrich infused energy and effort into this team as he reinforced what an exciting future he has, busting his butt from end-to-end, continually competing and making effort plays that inspired his team over a disengaged Sydney side. 

ILLAWARRA HAWKS 94 (Froling 20, Harvey 15, Lee, Clark 13, Robinson 12; Olbrich 10 rebs; Robinson 5 assts) d SYDNEY KINGS 90 (Adams 22, Hogg 15, Noi 14, Galloway 11, Bolden 10; Hunter 8 rebs; Adams 5 assts) at Qudos Bank Arena. Crowd: 8,578

JUMPING the Taipans early, Perth had Bryce Cotton delivering another 33-point haul and Kristian Doolittle grabbing a career-best 16 rebounds to go with his 17 points.

As always, Cairns rallied to drag this back into a contest after the Wildcats led by 15. But some ill discipline down the stretch and a couple of ill-conceived Pat Miller errors - does he think he's Tyler Harvey? - meant ultimately, the final margin was deceptive. 

PERTH WILDCATS 105 (Cotton 33, Doolittle 17, Pinder 14, Usher 12, Sarr 11; Doolittle 16 rebs; Pinder, T.Webster 4 assts) d CAIRNS TAIPANS 102 (Klintman 24, Miller 18, McCall 17, Kuol 13, Waardenburg 11; Mennenga 10 rebs; Miller 7 assts) at Cairns Convention Centre. Crowd: 4,050

BULLETS coach Justin Schueller had everyone guessing with his wild substitution pattern and sideline decision-making as New Zealand took control of this contest and by the end of it, had an initially tentative Zylan Cheatham running back into his finest airborne form.

Rocco Zikarsky inspired Brisbane back into the game during an active third quarter, Chris Smith also enjoying a purple patch but its key players being benched at odd times only further buoyed the Breakers, Dane Pineau their unsung hero.

NEW ZEALAND BREAKERS 81 (Lamb 18, Rubstavicius 15, Cheatham, Jackson-Cartwright 11; Lamb 13 rebs; Jackson-Cartwright 7 assts) d BRISBANE BULLETS 71 (Sobey 16, Bannan 14, Smith 10; Smith 12 rebs; Smith 4 assts) at Nissan Arena. Crowd: 4,796