Any question about Sydney's national basketball league championship credentials were answered on Wednesday night when the Kings became the first team this season to defeat Perth in the west.

The 99-97 victory keeps the race open for the minor premiership with the Wildcats (18-7) only having a slender advantage over the team from the harbour city (18-8).

But young Perth centre Matthew Burston was left to rue only shooting 8-15 from the stripe despite an inspiring performance which included 36 points, 14 rebounds and two blocks.

His heroics were not enough as Shane Heal and Kavossy Franklin combined to sink the big shots down the stretch to hand Perth its first defeat in 12 outings at Challenge Stadium this season.

The athleticism of Kings forward Chris Williams troubled Cats big man Tony Ronaldson early as Sydney jumped out to an early 14-7 lead before taking a 35-25 at the first break.

The American import collected 11 points but the home team adjusted its defence in the second term and restricted the effectiveness of the NBL's best scorer this season.

Burston then started dominating in the paint and picked up 15 of the Cats' 24 second quarter points to cut the visitors' lead to 53-49 at halftime.

The Kings scored the first nine points of the third quarter for a 13-point advantage.

But guard Ricky Grace and Burston then brought the Cats within three points before Franklin's late three helped the Sydneysiders take a 74-68 edge into the final quarter.

A 10-4 run by Perth early in the last stanza threatened to take the match out of Sydney's hands.

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