Bryce Cotton dropped a modern NBL record 59 points, and his Perth Wildcats needed almost all of them to get past the New Zealand Breakers 123-112 at RAC Arena.
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The Wildcats superstar set a new 40-minute era record, scoring 20 points in the first quarter and keeping the hot hand going all afternoon.
Cotton surpassed his previous career-high of 45 midway through the third term and finished going 18 of 28 from the field, seven of 15 from deep and 16 of 17 from the foul line.
He added seven assists, three rebounds and just one turnover.
Cotton smashed the previous 40-minute era scoring high of 51 points – set by Brisbane’s James Batemon against Perth just a fortnight ago – and broke the Wildcats’ previous scoring record, 57 points by James Crawford in 1987.
It was the most points in any NBL game since Shane Heal’s 61 for Brisbane against Townsville in 1994.
Heal’s feat, and all other totals above Cotton’s 57, came in the 48-minute era between the 1984 and 2009-10 seasons.
The all-time record remains Al Green’s 71 for West Adelaide against Frankston in 1984 – during a month in which he averaged 51 points, and in a season where he averaged 39.5.
The Breakers battled bravely despite losing 229cm former NBA player Tacko Fall to injury in the first half, with Parker Jackson-Cartwright managing 34 points and 10 assists.
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