Successive losses including the season's biggest upset have brought NBL ladder leaders NZ Breakers back within sight of Perth, their great rivals and closest challengers.
The Breakers entered the latest round riding an nine-game winning streak, with two of those victories coming against defending champions and second-placed Perth,
The Wildcats hit back last Friday winning 89-73 in Auckland and the Breakers crashed to a stunning 81-76 away loss on Sunday to seventh-placed Brisbane, who had lost their last three.
The Bullets were coming off an 84-83 way loss to Adelaide after holding a nine-point lead in the final quarter.
Breakers coach Paul Henare felt he and his side didn't adjust quickly enough to the officiating in Brisbane but wasn''t unduly concerned with the back-to-back losses.
"We were against a desperate Brisbane side coming off a tough loss to Adelaide," he said.
Perth had lost their last five to the Breakers and the Wildcats had suffered eight straight defeats to them in New Zealand where their last win was in 2013.
"To get one on them on their court was a good win for us," Perth coach Trevor Gleeson told AAP.
Sparked by 25 from JP Tokoto and four final quarter three-pointers from Jesse Wagstaffe, Perth improved to 8-3, just behind the Breakers 9-3.
They won despite star guard Bryce Cotton being held to just seven points.
"You've got to find different ways to win," Gleeson said.
"You can't just ride someone's coat tails all year."
Battlers Cairns and Sydney exchanged nine-point wins, with the home team collecting the result on each occasion.
Sydney prevailed 81-72 in their first clash but were without star import Perry Ellis (shoulder) and Todd Blanchfield (concussion) for the return match two nights later.
The Taipans were also without key players in Stephen Weigh, Nate Jawai and Michael Carrera but injury import replacement Jerry Evans Jr topscored with 15 as Cairns overturned a six-point three-quarter-time deficit to score an 80-71 victory.
Sydney had the game's two highest scorers in new imports Jerome Randle 24 and Jeremy Tyler 21 but incurred the ire of the officials, with Tom Garlepp ejected after two technical fouls and the bench copping another.
The round concludes on Monday when Melbourne United host Illawarra Hawks at Hisense Arena.
