Bruce relives Freeway Series game-winner

For the second straight game at Qudos Bank Arena, the Sydney Kings claimed victory on the back of a last-second shot.

This time it was Shaun Bruce who stepped up to the plate and delivered against the Illawarra Hawks in Sunday's 83-82 triumph.

"I didn't have much choice [but to shoot it] - as I didn't know how much time was left on the clock," said Bruce in the post-game press conference - who assisted on Kouat Noi's game-winner against Cairns.

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"Whenever you're out there on the court, you've got to be ready to shoot those ones and [Angus] Glover did a great job finding me.

"Especially as we didn't have a timeout and didn't get a chance to draw something up, so we just had to play on the fly and the play we went with had a couple of options and 'Glove' made the right read.

"It felt good coming out of the hands and thankfully the basketball gods were with me on this occasion.

"We've had plenty of good wins during my time at the Kings and here at Qudos Bank Arena, so it feels great to be able to contribute to one."

Adding to the moment was Bruce's celebration after, where he signalled he'd put the Hawks to bed with a 'goodnight' action - an action made famous of NBA superstar Steph Curry.

"Those kind of celebrations just come out in the moment," said Bruce, whose coach Chase Buford commented saying his celebration only added to the legacy of the guard unanimously voted the best trash talker in the NBL. 

"No disrespect to the Hawks though, they had a great game, played us really hard and should have won that game."

Remember when @shaunbruce7 was almost out of the @NBL ?

Great story of an @NBL champion! https://t.co/TjBxFg5Va6

— Andrew Bogut (@andrewbogut) November 20, 2022

Making the occasion, which Bruce labelled 'right up there' in terms of shots in his career, was the 11, 032 at Qudos Bank Arena for the Freeway Series clash.

"The crowd was incredible," said the Horsham product said, who also received plenty fo support on social media, including former teammates Andrew Bogut (now a part-owner of the Kings) and Didi Louzada (who now plays in the NBA).

"Our fans just keeping showing up and with a big soccer game next door, that could have been an excuse for them not to but they were still here and we appreciate them greatly.

"Outside of the last few minutes, we've got to do a better job as a team to show up a little bit better for them and not make these games so close because they deserve great performances."