Basketball On The Internet.

JAVALE McGee tonight secured a pulsating 85-84 victory for Illawarra in Perth which went down to the wire and concluded with him blocking a corner shot from Jesse Wagstaff, one of the Wildcats' unsung heroes in a game which looked destined for overtime with 1.2 seconds left.

The final minute was one for the time capsule, McGee putting the Hawks ahead 80-79 before Ben Henshall drew a foul from Jonah Bolden and converted both freebies for an 81-80 lead with 37 ticks to tock.

With 23 seconds left, McGee restored Illawarra's lead and when Henshall missed an ill-conceived heroball fadeaway, then fouled Tyler Harvey, this looked over. Harvey calmly potted both free throws, Perth taking time-out, down 81-84 with less than five seconds left.

The Wildcats advanced the ball and ran a brilliantly-executed mis-direct play from the inbounds which found Elijah Pepper alone for a three in the corner. Pepper rubbed salt in the Hawks' defensive wounds as his shot swished with 1.2 seconds left.

Now Illawarra had a time-out ready to go, scores locked 84-84, the Hawks advancing the ball.

Across the keyway, McGee caught the lobbed sideline inbounds pass but was fouled by an unlucky Kristian Doolittle on the catch. The NBA big man went to the line having amassed 23 points on 11-of-18 shooting but was 1-of-2 from the stripe.

The drama intensified as McGee's first free throw bounced harmlessly away, the 12,497 at the Jungle now in full voice before-and-as he launched his second foul shot.

This one was good, Perth's John Rillie calling another time-out as no time had lapsed from the game-clock, still showing 1.2 seconds.

But this time there was no joy for the home team, Wagstaff with insufficient space in the corner to get off a good shot before McGee's long arms swatted the attempt into oblivion.

It was a huge win for Illawarra who started strongly, Wani Swaka Lo Buluk showing the way with an aggessive offensive start and great defence on Doolittle, whose nine points came on 4-of-12 shooting.

Jo Lual-Acuil fouling out and leaving with an 18-point, 12-rebound double at 6:18 left to play, hurt Perth, though Jaron Rillie and Wagstaff still managed to push the home team ahead by five (75-70) before the final drama unfolded.

Harvey finished with 24 points (on 8-of-22 from the floor and 5-of-13 threes) plus eight assists. Yet while he came up big in the endgame, Pepper and Henshall consistently exploited him at the defensive end and were major factors in the Wildcats clawing back from an early 10-point deficit.

Jackson Ball started and played 32 minutes of controlled, poised basketball, the 17-year-old New Zealand guard playing a significant role in the Hawks winning.

South East Melbourne continued on its merry winning way, blunting the Bullets in Brisbane 109-86, Nathan Sobey torching his previous club, his game-high 29 points including 5-of-10 threes.

Playing his last game as an interim import, Lamar Patterson, whose two late baskets clinched the win for Brisbane in New Zealand, was relegated to the bench instead of starting, the Phoenix taking full advantage to lead 14-1.

Brisbane grafted its way back into the contest but John Brown started strongly offensively for South East, probably spurred by his defensive assignment on Bullets stud Casey Prather.

Taine Murray, on his way to 12 points on a perfect 5-of-5 shooting, was part of the Bullets comeback which saw them grab the lead during the second quarter before Sobey again shut them down.

When Brisbane came out from halftime looking flat-footed and jaded, South East immediately pounced and pressured its lead out to 57-43 when Brown copped a largely unwarranted technical foul. Referees over-reacting has become the norm lately.

At 6:38 in the third, Brown stuck a basket, then was hit with a second technical and out of the game, Brisbane now with a gifted chance to take advantage.

Instead, Sobey nailed a pair of threes and in between, Akech Aliir and Jordan Hunter kept the scoreboard ticking, only Jaylen Adams' frequent trips to the charity stripe offering any Bullets respite.

The lead into the 20s, Hunter Maldonado completed his best round at the Phoenix as they pulled further away, ahead by as many as 26, Brisbane flying the white flag, Josh King clearing his bench, his team's 26 offensive rebounds a testament to South East's energy and also how poorly the Bullets efforts fell away. 

Having been whacked by Perth to open the round, what was anyone expecting to be different in Cairns when unbeaten leader Melbourne rolled into town last night?

This was over even before it began, United coach Dean Vickerman having the luxury of running all 12 players on the scoresheet and, remarkably, all 12 scored.

The definition of insanity is repeatedly doing the same thing and expecting a different result. Coming down the floor, jacking up 30 threeballs of their 72 shot attempts, while converting 10 simply defies logic.

Adding 16 turnovers, imports Andrew "Shoot First, ask Questions Later" Andrews and the steadily sinking Admiral Schofield (4-of-14 for 11 points) responsible for half of them, was just ugly to watch.

Mawot Mag seized the opportunities he received with 10 rebounds but Kody Stattmann remained anchored to the bench as the Taipans slithered off again, their lack of discipline - foul, offensive, defensive ... any sort - just a sight for exceedingly sore eyes.

Ultra-professional, Melbourne took care of business, their unselfishness and ball movement a stark contrast and frankly, fun to watch.

Round 6

Perth Wildcats 110 (Lual-Acuil 24, Pepper, Doolittle 18, Rillie, Henshall 10; Doolittle 8 rebs; Russo-Nance, Doolittle 4 assts) d Cairns Taipans 78 (Schofield 16, Smith 13, Stattman, Andrews, Adnam 10; Galloway 8 rebs; Smith 5 assts) at the Taipanadrome, Cairns Convention Centre. Crowd: 3,317 Q-Q: 30-22, 30-20, 28-20, 22-16. Ignite Cup Pts: Perth 7, Cairns 0

Brisbane Bullets 84 (Prather 23, Patterson 20, Harrison 16, Adams 14, Murray 10; Prather 12 rebs; Adams 4 assts) d New Zealand Breakers 83 (Mennenga 27, Jackson-Cartwright 17, Brockington 12; 4 with 6 rebs; Jackson-Cartwright 5 assts) at HeartBreakers Hotel, Eventfinda Stadium. Crowd: N/a

South East Melbourne Phoenix 112 (Sobey 33, Maldonado, Foxwell 17, Hunter 15, Aliir, Iwundu 10; Foxwell 6 rebs; Foxwell 8 assts) d Sydney Kings 95 (Davis 31, Soares 24, Noi, Dellavedova 14; 4 with 5 rebs; Davis 6 assts) at the Firepit, John Cain Arena. Crowd: 3,786

Melbourne United 94 (Goulding 14, Walker 13, Delany 11, Edwards, Doyle 10; Doyle, Delany 6 rebs; Walker, Doyle 4 assts) d Cairns Taipans 67 (Smith, Andrews 13, Schofield 11, Higgins-Titsha 10; Mag, Lee 10 rebs; Andrews 5 assts) at the Taipanadrome, Cairns Convention Centre. Crowd: 3,505

South East Melbourne Phoenix 109 (Sobey 29, Brown, Hunter 12, Glover, Aliir 10; Lewis 8 rebs; Maldonado 7 assts) d Brisbane Bullets 86 (Prather 18, Harrison 14, Adams 13, Murray, Patterson 12; Harrison 10 rebs; Adams 7 assts) at the Bullethhole, Brisbane Entertainment Centre. Crowd: N/a

Illawarra Hawks 85 (McGee, Harvey 24, Swaka Lo Buluk 11; McGee 11 rebs; Harvey 8 assts) d Perth Wildcats 84 (Lual-Acuil 18, Henshall 17, Pepper 12; Lual-Acuil 12 rebs; Doolittle 5 assts) at the Jungle, RAC Arena. Crowd: 12,497