Perth threatened to complete a monumental comeback before Brisbane, after a blistering start, steadied for a 109-104 NBL win.
The Bullets led by 24 points midway through the third term at home in Wednesday's Ignite Cup after piling on 63 first-half points.
But the Wildcats woke up and, with influential Bullets guard Raul Neto (10 points, eight rebounds) off the floor seemingly nursing a leg concern, three quick triples from Kristian Doolittle made it a two-point game with five minutes to play.
Back-to-back triples from Taine Murray (14 points) steadied the hosts though as they stayed more than one possession clear in the final minutes to avoid what would have been a deflating loss.
It moved the Bullets, who only won six games last season, to 6-5 under new coach Will Weaver, while the Wildcats are now 5-5 after three-straight losses.
Weaver said Neto's absence was precautionary after reporting some "tightness" and lauded his side's ability to defy a number of other injuries.
The coach was impressed with his side's intent to drive to the rim rather than settle for jump shots but said they needed to adapt to the officiating of fouls to get to the free-throw line more often.
"It doesn't always looked like it looked in that first half, but we're always applying pressure ... there is relentless attack and a rim focus," he said.
Neto had earlier put the Wildcats in a spin, his no-look backhand flick assist to Tyrell Harrison (16 points, five rebounds) a highlight of a brilliant first half that came on the back of a last-start victory in Adelaide.
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Nate Hinton (13 points, eight rebounds, four assists) and Jaylin Williams (13 points, four rebounds, five assists) were big at both ends as the Bullets threatened to break records, only for John Rillie's side to claw back
Doolittle barely fired a shot in the first half before exploding down the stretch to finish with a game-high 24 points and nine assists, while Anthony Dell-Orso (20 points) and Elijah Pepper (19 points) also got going.
Mitch Norton (13 points, four rebounds, three assists) attempted to steady the ship with Neto, on the roster until Lithuanian guard Arnas Velicka returns from injury next month, on the bench.
Lat Mayen (14 points) made a difference for the Bullets off the bench, hitting shots in the first quarter to get the hosts going and then all but sealing the contest with another triple inside the final minute.
"I lose at cards and I'm frustrated," Rillie said of the Wildcats' three-game slide.
"We've dug ourselves in these holes, it's been our story for three games now."
The Bullets, while improving to 1-2 in Ignite Cup, lost both of the final two quarters to the Wildcats to take five of a possible seven points from the clash and all but dash their hopes of featuring in the in-season competition's final.
