Defending champions Perth Wildcats have survived yet another late scare, posting a fourth-straight NBL win with a nailbiting 72-69 triumph over Melbourne United.The Wildcats (4-1) led by 12 points halfway through the final quarter of Sundays clash in Melbourne but United (3-2) quickly clawed back the deficit before their home fans at Hisense Arena.With less than a minute on the clock, Melbourne double-teamed Wildcats star Casey Prather and his pass was intercepted by Nate Tomlinson, who had a clear path to the basket.Another turnover and another Tomlinson layup cut the margin back to three points and United managed to secure a defensive stop.But with the seconds counting down, Cedric Jackson shot an airball to deny United a chance at overtime.It was a familiar tale for the Wildcats, who have almost thrown away each of their wins this season with poor showings in the final quarter.Prather was quiet by his standards but stepped up when it mattered for the Wildcats, making aggressive plays at the death to finish with 16 points.Captain Damian Martin put on a defensive masterclass, the 186cm point guard pulling down 13 rebounds to go with his five assists, while Matthew Knight chipped in 14 points and nine boards.Melbourne led at the first two breaks as power forward Majok Majok (12 points, five rebounds) imposed himself on the glass.With star shooting guard Chris Goulding missing with an ankle injury, United were able to spread the scoring load but Majok was their only scorer to reach double figures.United were again let down by poor three-point shooting, draining just 20 per cent of their shots from beyond the arc compared to Perths 38 percent.Wildcats coach Trevor Gleeson lauded the work of captain Martin, who played for 34 minutes after Jarrod Kenny was sidelined early with a groin injury.I thought Damo was outstanding there, Gleeson said.We had Jarrod Kenny go down in the first five minutes so we didnt have a backup point guard. For him to step up to get 13 rebounds when we really needed that, that just shows you leadership out there.He got a good crack in the jaw (in) the first 30 seconds of the third. Hes tough. Hell play hurt and he did that today.Melbourne coach Dean Demopoulos said his sides offence had appeared rushed which had hurt their chances of making shots.Maybe Perth had something to do with that. Im sure they did to some degree but I think some of it was self-inflicted, he said.Were missing a bunch and have continually missed a bunch. Well see how it goes. Hopefully it gets better but if not, weve got to learn how to win without that element. Kevin Durant Jersey . Ferrer, trying to win his fourth title on Mexican soil, will next play South Africas Kevin Anderson, who eliminated American Sam Querrey,7-6 (2), 6-4. Also Wednesday, Gilles Simon (6) of France beat Donald Young of the United States 6-4, 6-3, Ukraines Alexandr Dolgopolov downed Frenchman Jeremy Chardy 6-3, 6-4 and Croatias Ivo Karlovic defeated Dudi Sela of Israel 7-6 (4), 6-2. Dick Snyder Jersey . -- Eastern Kentucky thrives off creating havoc for others. https://www.supersonicsjerseys.com/810s-paul-silas-jersey-supersonics.html . LUCIE, Fla. Mark Radford Jersey . One game after a miserable showing in Oklahoma City, Gay tied a career high with 41 points and the Sacramento Kings cruised to a 114-97 victory at the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night. Gary Payton Jersey . -- Damian Lillard and LaMarcus Alrdridge were again the go-to duo for the Trail Blazers against the Kings. The University of Louisvilles opening game was barely two minutes old when Asia Durr spotted up behind the 3-point line and let fly her first shot. With it, the most acclaimed recruit in program history began a sophomore season she hopes will prove kinder than an injury-marred debut.If it does, that sophomore season might not end until the last shot is taken at the Final Four.Durr might have felt better about all of this if she hadnt missed that first attempt against Tennessee-Martin.She told herself not to let the wayward attempt linger. Just because one shot misses, the reminder continued, doesnt mean the next one will. One setback need not presage another.So when the ball again landed in her hands less than a minute later, Durr didnt defer. This time the 3-pointer went in. So did the next one. Over the course of the seasons opening week, so did 15 of the next 30 3-pointers she attempted after that initial miss.And all of that was before she hit 8-of-13 3-pointers en route to a career-best 34 points against Bowling Green this past weekend. Through six games, she averaged 19.7 points per game.Shes doing exactly what we had anticipated shed probably do as a freshman, Louisville coach Jeff Walz said even before the 34-point barrage. But unfortunately, she wasnt healthy.It is not a coincidence that Durrs fresh start coincides with the same for the Cardinals, now 6-0 after they surprisingly and somewhat embarrassingly exited the 2016 NCAA tournament with a second-round loss at home. Louisville had its share of good moments a season ago, hence the No. 3 seed that made the premature end to the postseason so painful. But it was a group too young and too inconsistent to be the next of Walzs Final Four teams. In the final moments of a tournament thriller against DePaul, it wasnt a team with confidence.While far from a failure, it was a season of promise unfulfilled. Durr knew the feeling.She had 15 points off the bench in that season-ending loss against DePaul. Entirely respectable. Not memorable. And Durr can be memorable.The groin injury that kept picking away at her like few defenders ever could is now healed. That much doctors and trainers could assure. But with each shot that slips through the net, its clear that the confidence that can be no less difficult to rehab is also rounding into familiar form.For just about the first time in her life, a basketball court didnt bend to her will.I had lost some of it last year from being hurt, Durr said. Any time any player gets hurt, their confidence goes down a little bit. Which is fine, but you have to build it back up somehow. You have to find a way. I think thats what Im trying to do.Im just trying to find a way to be great and do great things on the court and off the court.Durr underwent surgery for a torn groin muscle the spring of her senior year in high school. By early summer, when she arrived on campus at Louisville as the No. 2 recruit in the nation, there was an expectation she would be full strength by September, well ahead of the regular season. Except Durrs rehab didnt progress at the expected pace. As the season neared, there was even a thought of shutting her down before games commenced. But with an eye toward a basketball future beyond college that she didnt want to delay beyond four years, Walz said she told him she wanted to get all she could out of her natural matriculation. The medical staff saiid it was a matter of pain tolerance, that she couldnt do any further damage to the groin by playing.dddddddddddd.My first game against Cal last year [in the season opener], that was my first time playing in months, said Durr, who had 12 ?points in a four-point loss. I dont think people thought about that, which is fine, I dont expect people to think about that. But if you really think about that, thats hard coming from [my perspective].Yet from the perspective of those who had heard about her but never seen her play -- a group that would encompass most basketball fans outside her home state of Georgia and those who follow the prep recruiting circuit -- she was a limited player, not the multi-skilled guard whose game, at least stylistically, has been compared to Maya Moore.She scored a then-career-best 20 points in a win at Michigan State in early December, what seemed a potential turning point. But after a loss at Kentucky just a week later, Walz was again saying aloud that Louisville might shut down Durr for the season. Again she played on. Her numbers improved in ACC play, but while Cals Kristine Anigwe, Connecticuts Katie Lou Samuelson and Nebraskas Jessica Shepard starred as freshmen, Durr kept a low profile.The increasingly societal expectation of instant gratification might be unreasonable, but it is nonetheless often met in college basketball. In just the past few years, highly rated recruits such as Diamond DeShields, Jewell Loyd, Brianna Turner and Aja Wilson left little doubt as freshmen as to what level of performance lay ahead. Which was good for them because we doubt easily.I was just concerned with trying to get healthy, Durr said of the weight of expectations. My mind was on my groin so much. So I really wasnt thinking about what people thought or what people expected from me because I was just so focused on trying to get my groin to feel right. I was playing each game sore or hurt. I played through a whole lot of hurt.The crossover dribbles and spin moves that once freed Durr to get her shot off were harder to pull off. Her lateral movement was diminished. Even when she played well, the extra minutes in those performances then limited her practice time in the days after. Durr said she still experiences soreness. But like telling herself that missing one shot doesnt mean missing the next, she reminds herself that she is healthy.The results tell their own story.She can shoot the 3, she can also penetrate, said teammate Taylor Johnson, a Loyola transfer who has thus far been the teams starting point guard. She can hit the step-back pull-up. She can do a lot of things. Its really hard to stop her. If she shoots a 3, and if you run out at her, shes going to blow by you. She just reads the defense really well.If this is who Durr is, it changes the complexion of what Louisville can be, at least as much as any impact freshman or transfer changes other contenders around the nation. If Durr is a third piece of the puzzle every bit as difficult to defend as Myisha Hines-Allen, the reigning ACC player of the year, and Mariya Moore, an all-conference selection, the Cardinals become one of the teams to beat.Last year I learned a lot about me personally, Durr said.This year the rest of us will learn a great deal about Durr. ' ' '