'I Doo': Kristian says yes to biggest shot of the game

• All 165 games of the NBL27 season in one list
• Every NBL27 roster, squad list and projected depth chart
• Every injured NBL player, with expected return dates
• Hammer Time: Who is leading the league in dunks

Cometh the moment, cometh Kristian Doolittle ($317,500).

The 29-year-old American import put the Perth Wildcats on his back, flat-out drained a pull-up three to send the Round 9 NBL27 clash against the Illawarra Hawks into overtime and a 111-100 win at RAC Arena on Saturday, November 14, 2026.

"I feel like it's not even necessarily something that you think about," Doolittle said.

"Either you do it, or you don't. It's effort; it's an instinct thing and understanding that the position where we're at in the season, there's no time to second-guess or to look back and say, 'I wish I did it'.

"You know, I almost caused a turnover by making a bad pass, and not wanting to let my team down, I just dove for the ball. We always talk about being the first one on the floor and then being able to get fouled just because of my effort, put them in a tough, tough situation."

Doolittle poured in 16 of his game-high 29 points in the fourth quarter and overtime, including 7-for-8 at the charity stripe, and pulled down the defensive rebound off a miss by Tyler Harvey ($271,700) with 16 seconds left, then dribbled into the game-tying three.

"Just really on the offensive end, just being aggressive and just taking what the defence gave me, understanding that they were going to start doubling towards the end. And then on the defensive end, just wanting that last matchup, understanding that we needed to stop. They were matchup hunting. They were setting screens to try to get a favourable matchup.

"I just happened to be in the right place at the right time to be able to get on the ball and then fortunate enough to get the rebound and then, you know, just took the last shot."

The Wildcats clawed their way back into the top six at 7-6 while the Hawks, after going 3-2 on a brutal five-game road trip, fell to 5-10 and into ninth.

"I'm proud of my group," Hawks head coach Justin Tatum said.

"Extremely looking forward to going home."

Illawarra was right on the verge of going 4-1 on the road but suffered back-to-back setbacks, with William Hickey ($331,600) fouling out up 89-86 with 1:05 left to go, and Makur Maker ($99,800) fouling out with 3:56 left in overtime when the Hawks were down 96-92.

"(It's) difficult when you don't have some of your best players on the floor, but next guy up, next guy step up, and that's what those guys did," Tatum added.

"They did their best."

Watch

NBL27

Perth Wildcats vs Illawarra Hawks | Round 9 Highlights

Watch the highlights as the Perth Wildcats take on the Illawarra Hawks in Round 9 of NBL27 on November 14, 2026.

What you need to know

• The Perth Wildcats beat the Illawarra Hawks 111-100 in overtime at RAC Arena in Round 9 of NBL27 on Saturday, November 14, 2026, moving to 7-6 with a second straight win and levelling the season series at 1-1, while Illawarra fell to 5-10.
• Illawarra won the first quarter 30-26, Perth won the second 24-18 and the third 19-18, and Illawarra won the fourth 26-23 to force overtime at 92-92, before Perth won the extra period 19-8. Neither side led by more than seven in regulation.
• Kristian Doolittle ($317,500) top-scored with 29 points on 8-from-15, including 4-from-7 from three and 9-from-10 at the line, and tied it with a pull-up three with nine seconds left, while Makur Maker ($99,800) led Illawarra with 21 points and nine rebounds on 7-from-12, including 4-from-5 from three.
• Perth made 28-from-32 at the free-throw line and Illawarra 15-from-20, a 13-point edge at the line in an 11-point game.
• Illawarra committed 29 fouls to Perth's 19 and turned it over 17 times to Perth's eight, and Milton Doyle ($274,700), Makur Maker ($99,800) and William Hickey ($331,600) all finished with five fouls.

Milestones & Moments

• Kristian Doolittle ($317,500) scored 29, his NBL27 high by four points, in his 106th NBL game, and moved to 1,543 career NBL points.
• Dylan Windler ($271,100) moved to 980 career NBL points, 20 short of 1,000, and 498 career NBL rebounds, two short of 500, in his 73rd NBL game.
• Sam Froling ($228,200) moved to 1,481 career NBL rebounds, 19 short of 1,500, in his 212th NBL game.
• William Hickey ($331,600) had 10 assists and moved to 458 career NBL assists in his 136th NBL game.
• Jesse Wagstaff ($84,700) played his 553rd NBL game.

Perth Wildcats

• Kristian Doolittle ($317,500) top-scored with 29 points, five rebounds and five assists on 8-from-15, including 4-from-7 from three and 9-from-10 at the line, and hit the pull-up three that made it 92-92 after a defensive rebound with 16 seconds left.
• Dylan Windler ($271,100) had 22 points and 11 rebounds on 9-from-17, including 3-from-7 from three, with four steals in a team-high 38 minutes.
• Brandon Knight ($277,000) scored 19 off the bench on 5-from-12, including 2-from-7 from three and 7-from-9 at the line, with a layup that cut it to 92-89 with 38 seconds left.
• Elijah Pepper ($202,700) had 15 points, eight rebounds, six of them offensive, and four steals off the bench on 4-from-16, missing all seven of his threes, but went 7-from-8 at the line, including 6-from-6 in overtime.
• Jaron Rillie ($177,100) had nine points, six rebounds and six assists on 4-from-12, and his tip-in gave Perth the lead for good at 94-92 early in overtime.
• Cameron Huefner ($58,500) scored seven on 3-from-5, including 1-from-2 from three, with four rebounds in 24 minutes.
• Jesse Wagstaff ($84,700) had four points and five assists off the bench on 1-from-1 and 2-from-2 at the line in 19 minutes.
• Perth shot 36-from-85 from the field, 11-from-34 from three and 28-from-32 at the line, with 43 rebounds, 25 assists and eight turnovers.

Illawarra Hawks

• Makur Maker ($99,800) top-scored with 21 points and nine rebounds on 7-from-12, including 4-from-5 from three and 3-from-4 at the line, but fouled out with 3:56 left in overtime after missing a turnaround jumper at the end of regulation.
• Kelan Martin ($277,000) scored 19 off the bench on 6-from-12, including 3-from-6 from three and 4-from-5 at the line, with six rebounds and three blocks.
• Milton Doyle ($274,700) scored 16 on 6-from-18, including 2-from-11 from three, with three assists in a team-high 37 minutes.
• Tyler Harvey ($271,700) scored 14 on 5-from-11, including 4-from-8 from three, and his step-back three put Illawarra up 92-87 with 47 seconds left.
• William Hickey ($331,600) had 10 points and 10 assists off the bench on 3-from-6, including 4-from-5 at the line, with two blocks, before fouling out with 1:05 left in regulation.
• Sam Froling ($228,200) had 10 points, 12 rebounds and two steals on 4-from-5 in 21 minutes.
• Johny Narkle ($69,000) scored six off the bench on 3-from-5 with a block in 17 minutes.
• Illawarra shot 36-from-76 from the field, 13-from-33 from three and 15-from-20 at the line, with 39 rebounds, 20 assists and 17 turnovers.