The Gold Coast Blaze has moved top of the table and gone a step closer to claiming its first NBL title by downing the Perth Wildcats 86-73 at the Gold Coast Convention Centre on Friday night.
The much-hyped first-versus-second clash was tight right up until the final buzzer but an inspired effort by Adam Gibson (23 points, eight assists) and Erron Maxey (19 points) saw Joey Wright's men put in a 29-point final term to crush Perth for the third time this season.
In front of the biggest home crowd (4,588) in its short history, Gold Coast trailed Perth at every break but strong defensive work restricted the Perth big men with Shawn Redhage top-scoring with just 13 points.
Maxey was a standout for the Blaze with eight defensive rebounds and strong support from Gibson and Anthony Petrie (15 points) helped Gold Coast to keep in touch with Perth during the early quarters.
The Wildcats got off to the best possible start during the first when Kevin Lisch (five points) hit the first three of the night.
James Harvey (five) hit straight back for the Blaze, but Perth continued to find the target and when Jesse Wagstaff (nine) nailed a huge triple from way outside the arc followed by a second a short time later, the away side had a six-point lead with five minutes left on the clock.
The strong start made by Perth kept Gold Coast chasing and important baskets from Martin Cattalini (11 points) and Redhage late in the quarter saw the league leader take a handy seven-point lead at the first break (23-16).
Gibson hit a three almost instantly to start the second quarter and the guard was involved a short time later when his good defensive pressure saw Perth turn the ball over and concede a basket on the break.
A second triple from Gibson pegged the Wildcats' lead back to four and when Galen Young's tough work on the offensive boards saw him pick up a technical foul, Gibson was sent to the line, missing the first but nailing the second.
Last week's overtime hero Maxey began to influence the court and his defensive work provided a quick transition for Gibson to snare his third triple of the quarter.
With less than a minute remaining Stephen Weigh bundled over Tyson Demos, and Perth was made to pay as Gold Coast regained possession on halfway and Demos found the ball hitting a triple to make it a three-point ball game (39-42).
Gibson made a huge 12-point contribution for the quarter and single-handedly helped the Blaze to keep the Wildcats in check.
The visitors snared two more before the major break to keep a five-point lead, with nine of the Wildcats' 10 players making scoreboard contributions at half-time.
Beginning the third Craig Bradshaw (six points) was sent to the free throw line nailing both. Baseline pressure from Petrie then forced a turnover and he layed-up to bring the Blaze to within one.
Damian Martin (12) and Weigh (nine) hit back with a triple each to keep Perth ahead but the Blaze kept pressing and when Chris Goulding (five) drove hard at the basket and got sent to the line, the former Wildcat made it count to bring the Blaze to within one with five minutes left on the clock.
Maxey gave Gold Coast the lead for the first time in the match when he was fouled by Cattalini and went to the free-throw line netting both to make the scores 50-49.
With two minutes to go Greg Vanderjagt (five points) fouled Redhage and he gave the Wildcats back the lead with precision shooting at the line.
Redhage continued to trouble the Blaze defence and when Cattalini nailed from outside the arc Perth stretched its lead back out to six (59-53).
A final effort by the Blaze saw Maxey dunk right on the buzzer but the Wildcats continued to lead 61-57 going into the final quarter.
Knowing that the championship was on the line Gold Coast came out firing in the final with Mika Vukona (five points) hitting a three from the restart to bring Perth back to one.
Gibson's crafty steal and resulting triple made the scores 67-64 and with the lead Gold Coast began to amp up the defensive pressure and Perth was unable to find its way to the basket.
Petrie sent the crowd wild with a triple to give Gold Coast an eight-point lead and from then on the Blaze began to lock down the game.
Maxey and Gibson gave the Blaze plenty of cover at both ends, while some good offensive work on the boards saw Vukona net and the game began to slip from Perth.
Pertie's dunk with two on the clock signaled a Blaze runaway and with the scores 80-64 defeat was imminent for Rob Beveridge's men.
Gibson brought the massive home crowd to its feet with seconds remaining side stepping in to dunk on the glass and give the Blaze a 13-point win.
Playing their last home game of the season, the Blaze (15-10) travel to Wollongong on Saturday night, while the Wildcats (15-11) will be out to finish the season on a high when they play Melbourne on the same night.
Gold Coast Blaze 86 (Gibson 23, Maxey 19, Petrie 15)
Perth Wildcats 73 (Redhage 13, Martin 12, Cattalini 11)
@ Gold Coast Convention Centre, Crowd: 4,588
