Pinder's career night leads Wildcats to victory over Phoenix

Jackson Clark Published February 13, 2025 at 12.30pm (AWST)

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Keanu Pinder recorded a career-high 35 points against South East Melbourne Phoenix on Tuesday. (Image: NBL)

Perth Wildcats star Keanu Pinder has produced one of the defining moments of his career by recording a career-high 35 points in his team's NBL Seeding Qualifier win over South East Melbourne Phoenix.

The Wildcats prevailed 122-to-105 at Perth's High Performance Centre on Tuesday to book a semi-final date with Melbourne United.

Pinder began the match in dominant fashion, posting a dozen points in the opening term before adding a further 16 points during an excellent third quarter.

The 210cm forward scored all three shots from long range to finish with 11 from 13 from the field to go along with 11 rebounds.

He opened the scoring with an and-one, which led to a 16-0 run for the Wildcats.

By the five-minute mark of the first quarter Pinder had already recorded a dozen points and was also looming as a strong defensive threat, pulling down numerous rebounds.

After a quieter second term he exploded again in the third, remarkably levelling the score on four occasions while putting opposition number Jordan Hunter in foul trouble.

Keanu Pinder starred in the Perth Wildcats' win over SEM Phoenix on Tuesday. (Image: NBL)

During that all-important third period, he also registered two massive blocks that were crucial to his team regaining momentum.

Perth coach John Rillie was pleased with his team's resilience, speaking highly of Pinder's performance when talking to the media post-match.

"When KP is on that level he just brings a different dynamic to our group," Rillie said.

"We came in and took care of business the way we were supposed to.

"We've been playing well of late and the guys did a great job in the second half to wrestle back momentum so I think with this team we're slowly starting to see the trust and belief with each other out on the floor."

Pinder is enjoying a rich vein of form having recorded four double-doubles across his past five matches.

The 29-year-old has struggled with consistency at times in previous seasons, but is enjoying a career-best season - averaging 15.8 points and 6.5 rebounds per game.

Pinder was born in Derby, Western Australia and eventually moved to Perth to further his basketball.

He moved to the United States in 2013 and played two college years with the University of Arizona before spending two seasons in Poland with Legia Warszawa.