Top two raise the roof for the NBL

What a banner night Melbourne United’s open air game was for the NBL.

The challenge, now, is how do you top it?

The city turned on the sunshine as the roof retracted on John Cain Arena, allowing dusk to give way to a perfectly mild summer night.

With every ticket gone days out from the game, United fans had flooded social media in the hope of snaring a seat. That meant the energy generated by the official crowd 10,175 was off the Richter.

Only the 150kg of pyrotechnics that blasted into the night sky at halftime could top the crowd noise.

But nothing got near what unfolded on the court.

In a one-v-two classic that literally had everything, the fierce rivalry that has permeated through every Perth v Melbourne meeting produced a second overtime classic on JCA in as many meetings, the equal of any game played this year.

Everywhere you looked, there were heroes for both teams.

The Wildcats looked to have United’s measure most of the night as superstar Bryce Cotton threatened to rip the game away.

But an early 10-point fourth quarter explosion from former Wildcat Luke Travers helped United reclaim the lead for the first time since the third minute of the game (3-2).

Up 74-73 with 7.32 to go, what unfolded was some of the wildest shot-making you will ever see on an NBL basketball court. United talisman Chris Goulding showed why he is one of the favourites in this year’s MVP race with nine straight United points — a pair of treys sandwiching a tough and-one — to keep his side alive.

Cotton then took over with the next six to keep the Wildcats in it.