Taipans take first NBL win over Wildcats
The Cairns Taipans have created NBL history in Perth with their first ever away win over the Wildcats.
Cairns trailed by one-point at three-quarter-time but led by former Cat Martin Cattalini, and the hot hand of Gary Boodnikoff, the visitors won 95-87.
Boodnikoff, who hit a game-high 24 points, turned from hero to villain to hero again in the last term.
He hit two crucial triples but the league's leading shooter missed his first five shots from the foul line for the term.
But he stepped up when it counted most, sinking two clutch foul shots with 30 seconds remaining.
That turned a one-point lead into a three-point lead and turned the match the visitors' way.
Perth then turned the ball over and Cattalini sunk both shots from the ensuing foul to secure the result.
Cattalini, who finished with 19 points, also hit a crunch triple late in the third term to get his team within one point at the final change.
He had earlier put his team in front with a dunk early in the fourth and converted two shots from the stripe after Perth captain Tony Ronaldson gave away a technical foul.
Cairns had lost their previous nine games in the west.
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