Adams' 43 points not enough as Kings fall to Sixers

The Sydney Kings suffered a tough home defeat on Friday night, going down 105-96 to the Adelaide 36ers, in front of 10,356 fans at Qudos Bank Arena. 

Match summary 

Xavier Cooks scored on the Kings’ first possession but Adelaide had the next seven through Isaac Humphries and Lat Mayan. Buckets by Jaylen Adams and Bul Kuol stemmed the flow, as the two sides traded scores. The former had the ball on a string, converting a number of scores himself while also finding Cam Oliver for a massive jam and super sub Kouat Noi for a triple. Kendric Davis and Montrezl Harrell kept the Sixers noses in front for large parts of the term, as they led 34-23 at quarter-time. 

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A quickfire five from Adams closed the margin, with another triple by Kuol making it 36-31. Further buckets by Adams and Cooks forced Mike Wells to call a time-out, as the gap closed to just three. Despite the inside presence of Harrell, Makuach Maluach and Kuol continued to produce for Sydney. The exceptional first half from Adams (24 points) showed no signs of slowing down, as another jumper tied it all up at 50. When Sixth Man of the Year favourite Noi landed a triple, the hosts led by three. That was the margin (55-52) Sydney led by when Adams landed a buzzer-beating two. 

Harrell got scoring underway in the second before Cooks returned serve with a two-handed flush. Cooks then turned provider to Oliver, as the Hoops Capital side was having a dunk party. The Sixers then rattled off 14 straight, once again sparked by Davis and Harrell, to lead by 10, midway through the term. The drought was ended by Oliver before Brian Goorjian was given a controversial technical foul. Scores by Adams and Alex Toohey helped Sydney close the deficit. A late free-throw by Cooks made it 78-73 to the Sixers at the final change. 

That lead quickly ballooned to 11 following scoring by Davis and Harrell but once again, Adams ended the host’s cold spell. Shots from the charity stripe by Cooks and an Adams floater ensued but were cancelled out by Dejan Vasiljevic’s quick six points. The lop-sided officiating was highlighted when Kuol was controversially fouled out and Cooks was given a technical – seeing the lead grow to 17. The Kings didn’t die wondering with Adams adding five in quick succession before setting up Maluach. A Noi steal and dunk made it 102-90. A late flurry by Noi, Adams and Oliver wasn’t enough, as Adelaide ran out winners by nine points. 

Where the match was decided 

Adelaide secured the win on the back of superior statistics in field goal percentage (50-46), rebounds (44-41), points in the paint (60-42), points off turnovers (14-8) and fastbreak points (18-15). 

Key moment 

A 14-0 in the third, followed by a 6-0 to start the fourth proved pivotal in the Sixers’ win. 

Player of the game 

Adams was the standout, scoring a game-high 43 points (including five triples), seven assists, four rebounds, one steal and one block.

Watch Brian Goorjian's post-game press conference via the Sydney Kings’ YouTube channel above. While you’re there, be sure to hit subscribe, to ensure you never miss out on any of our great videos.

What’s next 

Goorjian’s team, who are now 16-11, stay in Sydney for another Qudos Bank Arena clash, this time against Perth on Sunday, February 2 from 2.15pm AEDT 

Tickets to the round 19 clash, which marks the club’s final home game of the regular season are still available here.