Perth Wildcats star Bryce Cotton has done the unthinkable and scored 40-plus points for the third game in a row to lift his team to a 115-105 victory over the Adelaide 36ers.

Fresh from an incredible 59 points last weekend to set a new record for the most points in the modern 40-minute era, Cotton followed up with 40 points against Illawarra on Friday night.

The entire NBL knew the Wildcats would be putting the ball in his hands as much as possible against Adelaide 36ers but the home team was powerless to stop him as he pumped out 49 points.

Cotton’s effort makes him the first man since Andrew Gaze in 1991 to score 40 points in three consecutive games.

He fell just short of reaching Gaze’s effort of two 50-point games in the same season.

He was chatting with opponent Kendric Davis instead of chasing history as the clock ticked down.

Cotton scored six points in the first quarter but then exploded in the second period with 17 points to head to half-time with 23 points under his belt.

He produced another huge third quarter including a remarkable half-court buzzer-beater to race to 38 points with one quarter remaining.

It was clear he would hit 40 again, but the real question was how big the final tally would be. The answer was 49.

“I’m just staying in the moment, trusting my instincts and never making a moment bigger than it is,” Cotton said after the game.

The Wildcats were missing import Kristian Doolittle (groin) and star centre Keanu Pinder (illness). But Adelaide were also undermanned.

Former NBA veteran Montrezl Harrell is still serving his suspension, DJ Vasiljevic has a hamstring injury and then Sunday Dech left the game during the second period with a hamstring injury too.