Comeback Kings run over Phoenix in fourth quarter

Jaylen Adams and Alex Toohey have sparked a huge fourth-quarter comeback by the Sydney Kings, to secure them a crucial 110-101 over South East Melbourne at Qudos Bank Arena. 

Match summary 

An Alex Toohey dunk opened the scoring for Sydney before Cam Oliver dropped in a floater. This sparked a strong start by the Hoops Capital side, as scores by Oliver pushed the lead out to 10-5. Despite a three by Kouat Noi, triples by Matt Hurt and former King Derrick Walton Jr closed it to 13-12. Seven quick ones by Noi, mixed in with efforts from the returning Bul Kuol and Cooks kept the hosts’ scoring ticking over. But the visitors went on a 15-9 to push their noses in front. Oliver was doing it on both ends with an and-one followed by a big block on Angus Glover. Late free-throws by Jaylen Adams made it 30-28 to the visitors at the first change. 

A shot from the charity stripe by Cooks closed it to one but Walton Jr and Jordi Hunter landed shots soon after, to keep South East Melbourne in the ascendancy – as did three quick scores by Nathan Sobey. A Toohey triple ended the drought for the harbour city side before Noi landed one shot from downtown to make it a three-point contest. Two straight and-ones by Hurt extended their lead before another Toohey dunk ensued. Joe Wieskamp then landed an and-one and triple to push SEM’s lead into double-digits. A late Makuach Maluach triple closed it to 60-47 at half-time. 

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Oliver’s strong game continued with an early bucket in the third, which was followed by a triple by Shaun Bruce. But that didn’t stop the Phoenix’s lead from growing, as Walton Jr and Sobey continued to push the pace. Adams and Noi did all they could to keep the Kings within striking distance. The latter and Maluach relentlessly attacked the ring to keep the scoreboard ticking along. But the lop-sided foul count prevented Sydney from gaining too much ground, heading into the final break down by 13. 

Free-throws by Adams and Cooks closed the margin to 10 before Noi made it an eight-point ball game. An and-one by Cooks and tough defence brought it back to five. The crowd was up on its feet when Adams converted another driving lay-up to make it a three-point game. The point guard closed it to one after free-throws before Noi stole the ball and found Maluach for a fastbreak lay-up to give the hosts the lead with just over five to play. Triples by Noi and Adams put the hosts up by three. With the Phoenix being over the foul limit, the Kings lived at the line for a large part of the term, with Adams making the most of it – seeing the purple and gold go up 100-95 with 2.22 to play. The crowd erupted as Adams stole the ball and lobbed it up to Toohey, who converted with a huge one-handed jam. Down the stretch, clutch buckets by Adams and Toohey capped a 38-16 final term to secure the nine-point victory. 

Where the match was decided 

The triumph was set up by statistical wins in free-throw percentage (89-65), assists (22-18), points in the paint (50-34), points off turnovers (20-12) and fastbreak points (16-9) - while committing less turnovers (14-7). 

Key moment 

The Kings erased a 13-point three-quarter-time deficit, winning the period 38-16, to chalk up their 12th win of NBL25. 

Players of the game 

Adams was once again amazing for Brian Goorjian’s outfit, finishing with 32 points (including 17/18 from the stripe), nine assists, five rebounds and three blocks. 

He was one of five players to reach double-figures in the win, including Noi (20 points and six boards), Toohey (17 points and seven rebounds), Cooks (15 points and 10 rebounds) and Oliver (13). 

What’s next 

Goorjian’s team, who are now 12-9, now head to the Brisbane Entertainment Centre to take on the Bullets on Saturday, January 4 from 8pm AEDT – live on ESPN. 

The Hoops Capital side’s next home game is against Melbourne United on Thursday, January 9, with tickets still available here.