Playing their first home game in six weeks, Melbourne United have clinched the 2021 NBL championship overcoming a brave Perth Wildcats to win Game 3 of the Grand Final Series 81-76 on Friday night.

The record books will show that Melbourne swept the series three games to nil and were the dominant team all season long to be deserving #NBL21 champions, but the fighting effort provided by the Wildcats can't be ignored.

Written off prior to the season on the back of winning the last two championships, the 'Cats still reached a 35th straight finals series and then reached the Grand Final without three-time MVP Bryce Cotton.

Then despite injuries to Luke Travers, Clint Steindl and Mitch Norton during the Grand Final Series, they were a chance to snatch all three Grand Final games in the final minute showing tremendous heart.

But ultimately this Melbourne team was too good and too deep, and with Jock Landale and Chris Goulding leading the way, they were never going to be denied.

Melbourne was raging championship favourites coming into the season and after ending the 36-game regular season three wins clear on top, they have secured a second championship in four years under the coaching of Dean Vickerman and captaincy of Goulding.

Landale hit the championship clinching shot for Melbourne with 38 seconds left and finished Grand Final Game 3 with 15 points and nine rebounds. He won the Larry Sengstock Medal also as Grand Final MVP.

Goulding finished the series as the leading scorer with 14 points including knocking down another four critical three-pointers.

It was far from a two-man show though. Development player Mason Peatling added 12 points, Scotty Hopson 12, Yudai Baba 11 and five-time champion David Barlow six to go with four rebounds and two assists.

Vickerman is now a three-time championship winning head coach and afterwards, was proud United achieved what they set out to in #NBL21.

"The emotions when you realise you've won are to stay humble to start with and then to make sure we enjoy this because this group absolutely earned it," Vickerman said. 

"They sacrificed like every other team did in the league, but this was the group starting the year having COVID. 

"We went through that whole thing at the start of the year and from that point we came together as a group, and looked at what the other sporting codes did in Melbourne like Richmond and the Storm. 

"We wanted to be part of that and to be one of those teams that came through the right way. We got there."

The Wildcats might have come up short of a championship three-peat but it's only difficult not to wonder what might have been had Cotton been available, and Travers, Norton and Steindl fit.

Perth still dominated the glass in Game 3 with 50 rebounds to 35, and 14 offensive boards to four but 14 turnovers didn’t help their cause.

John Mooney finished with another double-double made up of 14 points and 13 rebounds. Kevin White stood tall again for 14 points on 3/7 from deep with Todd Blanchfield contributing 11 points and 11 rebounds, Will Magnay 10 points and five boards, and Luke Travers nine points and six rebounds.

Wildcats coach Trevor Gleeson deserves enormous praise for taking a team with four injuries to some of their most important players to being so competitive against such a deep Melbourne team, but it doesn’t take away the pain of losing a Grand Final.

"There's obviously the disappointment for losing but I can't be any prouder of the guys for playing the right way. They showed a lot of grit and determination, and toughness, and never quit when there were multiple chances for us just to roll over," Gleeson said.

"I'm just so proud of the way the guys played. They could have so easily quit and just rolled over, but even to get that win on the road in the semi finals just showed the character of the team. We are undermanned, we're stretched really thin and obviously we had guys coming into the game injured.

"We just kept on playing and fighting, and showing that grit and determination and toughness that makes me so proud of the boys."

Melbourne made the most of their homecoming to start the game racing to an 11-2 leading including two triples to Chris Goulding and an and-one play to Mason Peatling.

The Wildcats were able to work their way back into firstly with a three ball from Will Magnay and then some quick life provided by Luke Travers in his first appearance of the series. 

Perth dominated the boards with 13 rebounds to six to stay close but Melbourne shot 6/9 from downtown for the first quarter to finish it leading 30-21.

Melbourne still led by 10 early in the second term but Perth was able to hold them to just five points in more than the last six minutes of the half. At the other end, the 'Cats found some ways to score including three balls from Todd Blanchfield and Kevin White.

While going into half-time with 29 rebounds to 15 including 12 offensive boards to three and as a result 11 second chance points to three, Perth was able to trail by just three even though Mitch Norton's night was already over with his hip injury.

The Wildcats then took the lead a couple of times early in the third term after three-point makes to Corey Shervill and White, but it wouldn’t last with Melbourne going on a 7-0 run. Scotty Hopson then closed the term with a buzzer-beater and United was pulling away at 58-52.

Five quick Yudai Baba points saw Melbourne's lead grow to 11 to start the final quarter and Perth really needed to dig deep. They did so with the next seven points capped by a three from White.

Jesse Wagstaff and David Barlow, with 17 Grand Finals series' between them, then traded three balls before the 'Cats stayed within four thanks to Mooney.

Out of a timeout, Melbourne again looked to put the title away first with two buckets to Jock Landale and then a three ball from Goulding to again lead by nine with under minutes to go.

Perth just wouldn’t go away and when Blanchfield connected from deep with 52 seconds to go, it was back to a three-point ball game right now with the fight from the Wildcats earning the admiration of all on-lookers.

It would be Landale that hit the clinching bucket, though, with a fadeaway turnaround jumper to beat the buzzer with 38 seconds left, and Melbourne would go on to win their second championship in four years.

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL GRAND FINAL SERIES
GAME 3

MELBOURNE UNITED 81 (Landale 15, Goulding 14, Hopson 12, Peatling 12)

PERTH WILDCATS 76 (White 14, Mooney 14, Blanchfield 11) 

Melbourne wins series 3-0
Larry Sengstock Medal (Grand Final MVP): Jock Landale

BOX SCORE