The Perth Wildcats became the first team to claim the 16 victories that historically guarantees an NBL finals appearance, with a 104-90 win over the Illawarra Hawks at RAC Arena.
The Cats recorded their biggest score of the season and their fourth straight victory as forward Nick Kay again starred on Friday night.
Kay finished with 17 points, 12 rebounds and five assists, while Bryce Cotton top scored with 27 points and Terrico White added 26.
The Wildcats were on fire offensively, but their defence lacked some polish as they work things out without Mitch Norton, who is sidelined with a calf injury.
Jordair Jett (19 points), Brian Conklin (20 points and eight rebounds) kept the Hawks within striking distance. They trailed by only five points late in the final term.
Since the competition became an eight-team competition in the 2009-10 season, no team with 16 wins has missed the playoffs.
So, it looks like Perth's amazing streak of 32 consecutive seasons of playing finals will stretch to at least 33.
How high they finish on that ladder is yet to be determined though, as both Melbourne United and the Sydney Kings also won their respective games on Friday night, each claiming their 15th victories for the season.
The Wildcats have three regular-season games remaining, while the Kings have four and United, five.
Perth shooting was hot from the get-go.
They equalled their best start for the season with 36 points in the opening quarter; and the 60 points they had at the main break was also their best.
Defensively though, the Cats were a bit off.
The Hawks were the only side to have more than 50 points on the board after two quarters. Their 52 points was bettered by only Brisbane, in Round 3.
Perth can go a big way towards claiming that top-two spot if they can beat the Sydney Kings in Perth next weekend.
The Hawks next game is at home against Cairns on Monday.
