Perth Wildcats have ended the ladder-leading New Zealand Breakers' five-game winning streak, roaring back in the second half to score an upset 92-84 NBL victory in Auckland.
The Wildcats fell behind by 11 points in the early stages of Saturday's clash at Spark Arena but former Breakers guard Corey Webster came back to haunt his old team with a season-high 26 points as Perth broke their a run of two straight losses.
A sixth successive victory appeared to be a formality after the Breakers leapt out to a 21-10 lead but the visitors scrapped their way back into the contest before Webster exploded for 16 points in the third quarter to swing the game in Perth's favour.
Some pinpoint long-range shooting from American import Brady Manek (18 points) helped the Wildcats seal the result in the fourth quarter while Bryce Cotton added 17 points, seven assists and six rebounds.
A three-time championship winner with the Breakers, Webster marked his first appearance against his former club with his best performance of the season.
"It's great to come home, to my home city and play in front of my old home fans that I've always got love for in my heart. I'm proud of my boys, it was a great win," Webster said.
While Webster's offensive prowess played a key role, the 34-year-old New Zealander felt the defensive work from his team helped keep the Wildcats in the game after falling behind early.
"We've been disappointed in how we've been playing as a group but it was our defence in this game. I think we locked in a bit more, we stuck to our scout and got stops and rebounded," Webster added after the Wildcats improved to 6-7 for the season.
The Breakers (11-4) made five triples in the opening quarter to set up a 27-20 lead and while the Wildcats missed all four three-point attempts, eight free throws without a miss kept them within striking distance.
Perth relied on their tenacity and hustle in the second period as they managed to shrink the deficit to one point despite shooting 2-of-12 from long distance, late baskets from Barry Brown Jr and Cam Gliddon putting the Breakers ahead 47-43 halftime.
The Wildcats stole the momentum in the third quarter with a 30-19 run, Webster putting on a show by pouring in nine straight points at one stage to set up a 67-59 buffer.
Perth kept coming up with important baskets in the final stanza to thwart New Zealand's comeback plans, Manek drilling three straight triples and Webster sinking the game-sealing jump shot in the closing seconds after Dererk Pardon's alley-oop dunk cut the margin to four with one minute to play.
