Wildcats surge to NBL top, down Phoenix

After being blown away in the first quarter, the Perth Wildcats have romped to a 22-point victory over South East Melbourne Phoenix 101-79 at John Cain Arena.

Perth (8-3) have made a habit of slow starts and faced a double-digit deficit in the opening quarter for the sixth straight game being down 15, before flipping the script and powering their way to victory.

Facing a 33-18 scoreline, the visitors outscored the Phoenix (6-3) 33-11 in the second quarter, going on a 21-0 run led by Michael Frazier, Luke Travers and Jesse Wagstaff.

They blew away the hosts 84-47 to see out the game and move joint top of the NBL ladder with eight wins and three losses alongside fellow competition heavyweights Melbourne United.

Travers led all scorers with a career-high 24 points off the bench to go with seven rebounds and a plus/minus of 32, on a night where the Wildcats hit an NBL season high 16 three-pointers, finishing 43 per cent from beyond the arc.

Seven players registered a made attempt from three point territory as Perth's bench piled in 38 points on the night, while star Bryce Cotton chimed in with 21 points and six assists.

"I was proud of the guys for not letting the poor start get to them. I mean, a lot has been said about it in our circles," Wildcats coach Scott Morrison said.

"A couple of our bigger names had slower games for their standards, and everybody stepped up and did their thing.

"I was proud of the guys for being so resilient given our situation, because it's not going to get any better.

"So it's good to see that we can handle it and and play well under under those conditions."

Hitting the floor without a string of names and their coach due to COVID-19 protocols, the Phoenix let slip a dominant opening stanza led by