The Wildcats won’t be looking back on their first game loss to the Sydney Kings, determined to equalise in game two at RAC Arena tomorrow night in front of a home crowd.
A narrow one-point margin was the difference on Wednesday, with the Kings’ pressure proving stronger on the night.
Putting up 7 blocks to 1, 6 steals to 4 and forcing 11 turnovers, Sydney put on a dominant show, with the Wildcats’ shooting keeping them in the match down to the last possession.
A non-timeout call on the final play has left some questioning Perth’s decision making, but assistant coach Ben Peterson is determined the team has put it all behind them and are looking only to take the win tomorrow night.
He spoke to SportFM this morning.
“It was a high level game of basketball and exactly what you would expect from a playoff game in this league. I felt we put ourselves in a great position to win in several areas that you wish you could clean up,” he said.
“We’ll address those going into tomorrow night and make some slight adjustments, but the overall effort was where it needs to be.”
Kings’ guard Kendric Davis put on a clinic on Wednesday, scoring 35 points with a 66% field goal percentage.
“There’s a reason why he’s one of the top two players in the league… I thought we had some really good moments, but definitely a lot of poor, undisciplined moments where you bail him out and let him go to the free throw line.”
Peterson is adamant the team can’t be too harsh on themselves with regard to play calls late in the game, continuing a forward looking mindset that the squad have carried all season.
“We’re a heavy protect-the-paint, protect-the-rim team. There were a few moments, especially late where we weren’t in the spot we needed to be in or we’re just a split second late to get in there and they’re able to capitalize.”
“There’s so many little moments in the game where we shouldn’t be down one late and then we are down one late. I thought we got multiple looks at a game winner and they just didn’t convert, so we’ll just move from there and be ready for tomorrow night.”
They plan to study film followed by a light training session in preparation for tomorrow night’s blockbuster, opting to focus on the positive takeaways from Wednesday’s clash.
Outside noise is something the Wildcats have dealt with all season long, with Peterson praising the squad for their ability to drown out the sound and hone into their craft.
“I think our group’s been surrounded by noise all year long and done a great job of battling through it. I don’t think our guys have flinched one bit.”
“They [Kings] handled business. They had home court advantage. We gave them a great run. They ultimately came out with the win. Now it’s our turn, hopefully in front of 13,000 at RAC to do the same thing, and flip the series right back onto them.”
“I think our guys are well prepared and ready to respond.”
Tipoff is at 5:00pm tomorrow night in a do-or-die clash for the Wildcats.
You can hear the match on SportFM from 4:30pm.
IMAGE: Perth Wildcats