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Kristian Doolittle stepped up as Perth spluttered home against a misfiring Cairns to strengthen their hold on second spot during their sapping NBL road trip. Fresh off a physical overtime loss on Saturday in Melbourne, the Wildcats made the most of the host's poor shooting close to the rim in a 105-102 Tuesday victory. Perth led for the entire game but had to defy a late rally from Cairns, who cut the lead from as much as 15 to just one to ensure a tense final 75 seconds. Bryce Cotton, who played all 45 minutes against United, was typically irrepressible with 33 points while Doolittle (17 points, 16 rebounds) stood tall with the game on the line in the second half. Ahead of a game in Adelaide on Thursday it pushed Perth (10-7) clear of Tasmania (10-8) in second, while Cairns (8-10) cling to sixth on a congested ladder. The Taipans made just two-of-15 shots inside the arc in the first quarter, while hitting three of six triples. It improved marginally (eight-of-28) by half-time and they trailed by 11.  The lead was immediately cut to six but Perth responded through Doolittle and then Cotton, who hit a three-pointer to boost the lead back to 14 points. NBA prospect Bobi Klintmann (24 points, seven rebounds) scored Cairns' next seven points in an entertaining cameo but Perth still carried a nine-point lead into the final term. Five early turnovers to begin the fourth quarter then hurt Cairns, who still got within one point with just over one minute to play. An offensive foul by Cotton then gave Cairns possession with 55 seconds to go, but Patrick Miller's (18 points, seven assists) long two-pointer hit the rim and former Taipan Keanu Pinder's (14 points, nine rebounds) lay-up at the other end was awarded for goal-tending. Bul Kuol's contested triple then missed everything but there was one last twist when Cotton lost possession and Cairns again cut the lead to one. The Perth star settled to drill both free throws from the next possession, with Sam Waardenburg's triple to tie the game from the final play bouncing out. It led to a 12th Perth win from their last 14 games against Cairns and an eighth from their last 10 games.
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