Basketball On The Internet.

THE missing pieces and blatant flaws in the lineups of defending NBL champion Illawarra and playoffs wannabe Cairns last night brutally were exposed to the glare of the spotlight as Bryce Cotton led Adelaide and Perth's Jo Lual-Acuil rose to the occasion in respective storming wins.

Don't let the flattering final eight-point margin in Perth fool you. The Wildcats had this wrapped after a late second quarter rally which turned the contest on its ear, followed by a 23-13 third quarter.

Whereas in Cairns, Adelaide had this one iced with a 36-23 opening term where even a squad of conscientious objectors would have showed greater resistance than the Taipans' road cones.

Cotton had 12 of his game-high 28 in the first period, conducting a willing orchestra of scorers where, in response, Admiral Schofield had 10 of his 19 points and Marcus Lee seven of his 18 to carry the lumbering home team.

Jack McVeigh (9 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and a career-worst 6 turnovers) battled gamely but was well-contained, Andrew Andrews fell in love with his own shot, prioritising it over facilitating looks for others, Reyne Smith still chose some bad shots and Kyrin Galloway remained a standout disappointment.

If he is ever going to take a step up, surely the moment is almost overdue.

Without Sam Waardenburg (ankle) and Lee - who offered as much as he could offensively - collecting a couple of time-hampering unnecessary fouls, Cairns was exposed for its lack of interior defence.

Isaac Humphries sauntered unhindered to 19 points, Zylan Cheatham to 14 rebounds and 211cm newcomer Nick Rakocevic helped himself to 8 points, 8 rebounds, a block and a steal in 16 minutes.

When Dejan Vasiljevic swished a couple of long range missiles, Cairns was buried, trailing by as many as 36 points.

And even more worrying for the rest of the NBL, Flynn Cameron found his niche, scoring 20 points including four threes, all at 50 per cent, plus four boards and four assists.

In Perth, Illawarra blew out on a 9-0 start, more than four minutes gone before the Wildcats scored a hoop and seemingly in serious trouble after a meagre 10-point first quarter.

The Hawks led 20-6 on a Wani Swaka Lo Buluk three before Lual-Acuil, overcoming initial anxieties facing Javale McGee (26 points, 14 rebounds), scored the quarter's last four points.

Four minutes out from halftime, Dan Grida's layup kept Ilawarra without a worry, clear at 39-28, the energetic Biwali Bayles harassing the curls out of Mason Jones.

Free throws from Dylan Windler (16 points, 14 rebounds) and Kristian Doolittle (17 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists), followed by a triple from Elijah Pepper forced a Hawks timeout, the buffer trimmed back to 34-39.

But out of the huddles, it was Perth jumping into a press and forcing two quick turnovers, Pepper and Windler completing the plays.

Energised as a unit, Windler blocked Todd Blanchfield's 3-point attempt and when Doolittle struck a three, in less than three minutes the Wildcats had seized a 41-39 lead. 

That 13-0 run was decisive, Doolittle striking another triple to ensure Perth went into halftime on a high and ahead 44-43.

The Hawks took the lead back in the third, McGee providing their offence, Tyler Harvey under relentless pressure and eventually sufficiently frustrated to drop a ball onto the prostrate Jesse Wagstaff to earn a technical foul.

Perth was running away with this, Jaquori McLaughlin taking bad shots while the Wildcats thrived.

When Doolittle struck another 3-pointer, Perth was ahead 67-53 and would not be caught.

Round 3

Adelaide 36ers 110 (Cotton 28, Cameron 20, Humphries, Vasiljevic 19; Cheatham 10 rebs; Cotton 7 assts) d Cairns Taipans 79 (Schofield 19, Lee 18, Andrews 10; McVeigh 8 rebs, Andrews 7 assts) at the Taipanadrome, Cairns Convention Centre. Crowd: 4,213

Perth Wildcats 92 (Lual-Acuil 22, Doolittle 17, Windler 16, Jones 12, Pepper 11; Windler 14 rebs; Jones, Doolittle 4 assts) d Illawarra Hawks 84 (McGee 26, Harvey 19, Swaka Lo Buluk 14, McLaughlin 13; McGee 14 rebs; Harvey 5 assts) at the Jungle, RAC Arena. Crowd: N/a