Phoenix down Wildcats in Sunday thriller

It had all the feelings of a finals-like match up and the South East Melbourne Phoenix kept their hot form going with an intense 94-89 home victory on Sunday against the Perth Wildcats.

Nathan Sobey's game-high 22 points and ice-cool hand from the free-throw line steered South East Melbourne to the hard-fought five-point win at John Cain Arena on Sunday.

Sobey also had five rebounds, two steals and two blocks, including a monster one when Wildcats big man Jo Lual-Acuil Jr was taking the ball to the rim in the dying stages. He also went 4/14 shooting from deep.

Owen Foxwell (20 points, five assists) and John Brown III (12 points, eight rebounds) also shone as the Phoenix stepped up to make it four straight wins to improve to 6-2 having won their four home games this season despite a loss on the same floor to United.

Next Star Malique Lewis had 11 rebounds, six assists and two points, while Angus Glover added 12 points before succumbing to an ankle injury in the dying stages.

It might have been a loss for the Wildcats, but they would have lost no admirers coming off a gritty win in Tasmania on Wednesday night.

New import guard David Duke Jr made his debut too and despite a rough time with the whistle and ending up fouling out, he was encouraging in his 17 minutes with eight points and two steals. The 'Cats were +16 with him out there.

Kristian Doolittle provided 19 points, 13 rebounds and six assists with Jaron Rillie adding 16 points, seven assists and five boards, and the returning Dylan Windler 15 points and five rebounds.

Lual-Acuil Jr only attempted seven shots for the game and two in the entire second half as he battled with the physical defence of Brown III. He finished with 13 points, two assists and two steals but just one rebound.

Neither team led by more than six points through the first three periods of the entertaining arm-wrestle, and a Brown III jumper gave South East Melbourne a 75-72 lead entering the final quarter.

The next five points - through a Hunter Maldonado lay-up and a Sobey triple - gave the Phoenix the upper hand, but there was plenty of time left.

Foxwell drained a long-range three to give the Phoenix a nine-point buffer, but Doolittle hit back with the next two buckets to keep it alive.

Sobey made a huge defensive play with a block on Lual-Acuil Jr in the final minute, just seconds before Glover rolled his right ankle and allowed a Rillie three to cut the margin to two points.

Doolittle produced a huge block on Sobey's attempted lay-up with the margin at two points.

But a Windler foul on Sobey gave the Phoenix sharpshooter the chance to seal the result, and he did so with a pair of successful free-throws.

The Phoenix now head to Launceston to take on the Tasmania JackJumpers on Thursday before a mouth watering Throwdown with the league-leading Melbourne United on Saturday.

The Wildcats remain on the road for their first battle with five-time MVP Bryce Cotton against the Adelaide 36ers next Sunday.

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL SEASON 2025/26

SOUTH EAST MELBOURNE PHOENIX 94 (Sobey 22, Foxwell 20, Glover 12, Brown III 12)

PERTH WILDCATS 89 (Doolittle 19, Rillie 16, Windler 15)

BOX SCORE