Goulding goes nuts as United overcome Wildcats in NBL
Chris Goulding has produced one of the NBL’s greatest individual performances to help Melbourne United overcome a huge deficit and the loss of Jack White to injury in a 106-97 win over the Perth Wildcats.
Trailing by 19 points during a horror second period at John Cain Arena on Saturday night, United were struggling when White went down with a left calf issue before halftime.
But they rallied behind captain Goulding, who stunned the visitors in a game-winning display after the main break.
Goulding scored 25 points in the third period alone and finished with a game-high 46 points on 16-of-32 shooting.
The veteran shooter connected on 9-of-21 triples as he extended his run of scoring from long range to 78 consecutive games.
Marcus Lee (13 points), Rob Loe (11) and White (12) also finished in double figures as Melbourne improved to 9-4 for the season.
But White’s injury is cause for concern going forward.
Perth (5-6) got strong service from import Kristian Doolittle (21 points) and Next Star Izan Almansa (19), but managed just 32 points in the second half.
Goulding drained two early triples and Melbourne led 31-29 at quarter-time despite Almansa’s 12 points in the first period.
But the visitors exploded and the lead ballooned to as much as 19 points during the second as Doolittle exerted himself on the contest.
White’s injury was a blow for Melbourne and Doolittle’s three on the buzzer gave the Wildcats a 65-51 buffer at halftime, with he and Almansa leading all scorers with 17 points each.
It was Perth’s highest first-half score of the season.
Enter Goulding, who lifted his team off the canvas with a vintage shooting display.
Goulding scored more than twice as many points as the entire Wildcats team during the third period, with Melbourne winning the quarter 32-12.
It gave them an 83-77 buffer heading into the final period, and they resisted everything Perth threw at them down the stretch.
Fittingly, it was Goulding’s ninth triple and another tough bucket close to the rim that sealed the result for Melbourne in the final stages.
#Goulding #nuts #United #overcome #Wildcats #NBL