After 16 consecutive missed three-pointers, you could forgive Bryce Cotton for being nervous.
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But the two-time NBL most valuable player was full of confidence as he drained a stunning game-tying three-point shot to send his Perth Wildcats into overtime against the NZ Breakers on Tuesday night.
"It doesn't bother me, I know the work that I put in over the off-season so I back myself," he said.
"This game I wanted to come out and try and get into the paint as match as possible.
"Adelaide did a good job collapsing [last game] so I was going to try to see if that could create shots for my teammates but I was able to get some good looks in the paint in the process."
ELSEWHERE IN SPORT
After going down by 16 points early doors and trailing in overtime, coach Trevor Gleeson credited his side's resilience.
"The guys knew the play, executed the play great and BC [Cotton] with the double pump, I was right behind it ... it looked like it might have been a little short but we'll take it," Gleeson said.
"Even in overtime, they [the Breakers] scored the first five points, it was almost like another punch.
"The guys withheld it, just kept their composure, didn't get too high or too low and just kept playing, it was a really good overtime game for us."
On the flipside, Breakers coach Dan Shamir was left to ponder what could have been, describing the 85-79 loss in captain Tom Abercrombie's 350th game as tough.
"We need it, we were working hard, we were trying to do everything right, really wanted that win and on top of that it was Tom's special night - game 350," he said.
"Obviously mistakes happen, we wanted to miss the last free throw, something that is a little bit tricky - you need to miss it and still touch the rim. Bryce Cotton made a big three, a crazy three, and here we are with a loss.
"It's one of those games that's a reminder that games are decided over very small things. It's not always planned, that's the beauty of the game, you've just got to live with it."
Abercrombie, who overtook Kirk Penney's three-pointer record for the Breakers, was frustrated with the loss.
"I think we've established a good baseline effort that we are bringing each and every night now but as we've seen, it's not enough in this league - we've got to find that extra gear," Abercrombie said.
"We almost had it tonight ... this is one of those games [that] it's very tough to let it go and move on to the next one, it sort of plays on your mind for a little bit but that's what we have to do."
The New Zealand side will be moving on rather quickly, facing the Brisbane Bullets at the Silverdome on Friday night before getting another chance at the Wildcats in Perth on Sunday.
Shamir's side then return to Launceston for matches against the Cairns Taipans on April 23 and the Adelaide 36ers on April 26 as they hope to make the Silverdome their home away from home before potentially returning later in the season.