Where it all went wrong for United

Melbourne United looked on track to head straight into the NBL Championship Series and their first chance at a title since 2021 ... then, the Perth Wildcats threw a spanner in the works.

Vickerman had never previously lost a game as coach in the finals where his team had been leading by as much as 20 points.
It was the Wildcats going small and building the momentum with their home fans jumping on deck, and United settling too much that he felt led to the turnaround.

"They put that small ball lineup out there and then they made shots, and they go 4/4 from three in the fourth quarter and Tai (Webster) was getting into different spots and they were sitting him under the basket in the dunker's spot so he could attack the rim," Vickerman said.

"(Dylan) Windler and Tai were the big difference from the game the other night in their performance, but it still comes back to the rebounding and that was an area that Windler had a massive impact in.

"Doolittle also had a big impact in getting them those second shots and there were some big moment shifts, and their crowd got behind them.

"We've got some things to work out as a coaching staff and playing group as to how defend that small ball group."

Melbourne only scored four points in the first five minutes of the second half, but were still leading by 16 points when Matthew Dellavedova landed what appeared a dagger three-pointer just before three quarter-time.

The game from that point on underwent a dramatic shift with Perth scoring the last five points of the third quarter and outscoring United 33 to 15 in the fourth to force Game 3 back at John Cain Arena on Tuesday night.

Things fell apart for Melbourne in the fourth quarter with just 15 points on 6/20 shooting along with 1/9 from three and 2/6 at the foul line with Jack White missing four crucial free throws.

The Wildcats put up 33 points on 10/12 shooting while making all four triples, hitting 9/11 at the charity stripe and outrebounding United 14-6, having eight assists to one and doing it by going small.

Vickerman said his team started to settle for shots. Even Chris Goulding had his struggles, missing his last 11 three-point attempts.

"CG still had some looks, but they were ones where he had to throw them up a little bit higher and they weren’t the solid three-point looks that we'd been hunting for him," Vickerman said.

"Once we put our feet in the paint we scored the ball pretty well, but the combination of not getting free throws and not making threes was a big factor down the stretch.

"It might have been the first time that we've had 20 free throws against us in all the games that we've played this year and our foul discipline has been really good against them, but our inability to also get there made a difference.

"The refereeing wasn’t a factor in that one ... it was our ability to settle for contested threes versus attacking on a second closeout that could have resulted in us getting more free throws and better shots."

Dellavedova had another tremendous performance for Melbourne with 13 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds, and he has full faith in his group for Game 3 in Melbourne, albeit with some clear areas to improve.

"We've battled all year and we know they're a good team, but we have a lot of belief in our locker room and the type of guys we have," Dellavedova said.

"In the first half we were really clean on the defensive boards that allowed us to get out in transition and be a bit more free flowing. Then in the second half it felt like they got a few more o-boards, got to the foul line a bit more and were able to set their defence a bit more.

"That made it a bit more of a grind, but that's what it is going to come down to in Game 3 and we know what they're running and they know what we're running, so it's going to come down to the boards and getting those loose balls."

It looms as a massive Series decider on Tuesday night at John Cain Arena, as Melbourne hosts Perth from 7.30pm AEDT, live on ESPN.