Perth Wildcats star Keanu Pinder’s dominant NBL effort against Sydney Kings among his best-ever games

Perth Wildcats star Keanu Pinder has described his brilliant efforts during Friday night’s win over Sydney as one of the best performances of his career.

The Wildcats entered the game under pressure with a 2-4 record, were without four-time NBL MVP Bryce Cotton and starting point guard Tai Webster. Pinder had struggled to play at his best for most of the season and the Wildcats needed their big men to control the game if they were to compete with the Kings.

Pinder stepped up, equalling his career-high 34 points, winning three offensive rebounds and imposing himself physically on the contest as the Wildcats won 87-84.

He said the game ranked highly among the best performances of his career.

“It’s up there,” he said.

“This one means a lot to me because I hadn’t been playing so well. It always means more when you haven’t been playing well. The things we worked on at practice made me more confident. Props to JR for getting me going in practice.”

Inspired by Pinder, the Wildcats’ big men were a force to behold. Perth won the rebounding 56-35 and playing with aggressive mindset got them to the free throw line 31 times.

Sydney coach Brian Goorjian said Pinder was unstoppable.

“For whatever reason, it looked like he had an aggression in his eyes that it was time to go,” Goorjian said.

“I thought he was super aggressive at both ends of the floor all night. Every time he got the ball he was trying to get on the rim. Every time a shot went up, he was on the glass. He was a monster tonight.”

The Wildcats have rarely had all of their big men on the court this season, with injuries playing a big part in the opening weeks.

Pinder missed one game after being concussed and import Dylan Windler has sat out two matches after also being forced to miss several pre-season contests.

Pinder said the group had shown what they are capable of.

“I’m really proud of the guys for fighting and getting the offensive rebounds and sticking with it the whole game. We fed off each other’s energy and played amazing,” he said.

“I think it’s going to be great. If we have everyone healthy, i think we’re going to be an amazing team.”

Webster is expected to be fit for Friday night’s home game against Illawarra when captain Jesse Wagstaff will equal Ricky Grace’s club games record. But Cotton still doesn’t have a clear timeline on his availability.