Basketball On The Internet.

WHAT the hell was Andrew Andrews thinking? Is he the only player in the NBL who hasn't seen Jack McVeigh's long shot that turned the Tasmania-United championship in 2024? Can he be so blissfully unaware the Olympian is "The Man" when it comes to a last shot, not an import who is 3-of-11 from range but still jacks up a prayer?

While Andrews was finishing 3-of-12 from beyond the arc, McVeigh was wide open to his left - wide open - because Dylan Windler left him, quickly spotting Andrews had blinkers on and was about to launch a hero ball attempt instead of whipping it early to the one guy who might have made that shot.

Andrews' stinker, and he had three Wildcats around him as he let fly, meant Perth was home 80-77, the Orange Army again left to lament what might have been.

For McVeigh to play more than 37 of the 40-minute contest and be afforded only 10 shots both speaks highly of Perth's defensive effort and mighty lowly of Cairns' offensive systems.

Windler was magnificent. Since his uncharacteristic shocker in Perth's season opener, he easily has been its most consistent player and this match was no exception.

His 26 points came on 11-of-15 shooting (73 per cent), plus 11 rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block.

Jo Lual-Acuil Jr dominated the keyways with a 30-point haul at 65 per cent, accompanied by 10 boards, a steal and a block.

While Cairns pivot Marcus Lee has noticeably lifted his offensive aggression and output in the continued absence of Sam Waardenburg (ankle), the Taipans' frontline had no consistent answers for the dominance of the JLA-Windler combination.

Kyrin Galloway again was little more than a passive passenger and it seems past the time for coach Adam Forde to reassess his minutes in favour of the always energetic Kody Stattmann.

And similarly, Wildcats mentor John Rillie needs to shelve this prolonged failed experiment of inserting Dontae Russo-Nance as a starter, then starting him again for the second half but only squeezing eight minutes of daylight into his game.

If he's good enough to start, he's good enough to play. But truth is he isn't nearly good enough to start and Rillie just has to face up to the fact Mason Jones is the lord mayor of Struggle Town and his actual PG answer is his son Jaron.

Jaron was extremely competent again last night and was out there in the crisis of the final minutes, which in itself says everything you need to know.

The match had 27 lead changes but any shot at overtime went out the window when Andrews decided he was the best option. Sadly for Cairns, he wasn't, as anyone who follows the NBL could have told him.

Round 4 (Includes Ignite Cup)

New Zealand Breakers 117 (Mennenga, Jackson-Cartwright 20, Te Rangi 18, Lopez 16, Brockington 14, Davison 12; Lopez 9 rebs; Jackson-Cartwright 17 assts) d Illawarra Hawks 88 (Harvey 22, McGee 19, Peatling 14, Swaka Lo Buluk 10; Blanchfield 8 rebs; Harvey 6 assts) at The Breakdance, Spark Arena. Crowd: 3,101. Q-Q: 30-24, 30-25, 27-23, 30-16. Ignite Cup Pts: New Zealand 7, Illawarra 0

Melbourne United 107 (Walker 27, Edwards 22, Doyle 16, Krebs 15; Edwards 12 rebs; Doyle 6 assts) d Sydney Kings 93 (Cooks, Davis 21, Galloway, Dellavedova 12; Cooks 10 rebs; Dellavedova 7 assts) at the Kingdome, Qudos Bank Arena. Crowd: 9,528. Q-Q: 29-25, 21-27, 31-19, 26-22. Ignite Cup Pts: Melbourne 6, Sydney 1

Adelaide 36ers 98 (Cotton 29, Humphries 24, Vasiljevic 13, Cameron 12; Cheatham 9 rebs; Cotton 9 assts) d Tasmania JackJumpers 89 (Hamilton 22, Magnay 17, Bannan 14; Marshall, Magnay 6 rebs; Hamilton 9 assts) at Brett Maher Court, Adelaide Entertainment Centre. Crowd: 9,320

Perth Wildcats 80 (Lual-Acuil 30, Windler 26, Jones 8; Windler 11 rebs; Windler, Russo-Nance 3 assts) d Cairns Taipans 77 (Andrews 21, Schofield 16, Lee 12, Smith 11; Lee 12 rebs; McVeigh 6 assts) at the Taipanadrome, Cairns Convention Centre. Crowd: N/a