Devastating first half shooting display leads Kings to rout of JackJumpers

By Matt McQuade

 

Result: Brydens Lawyers Sydney Kings 103 Tasmania JackJumpers 83

Stats that matter: Kings 60.7% FG; Kings 19 assists; Kings 44 points in the paint; Rebound count Kings 45 JackJumpers 33

Kings MVP: Jaylen Adams was on fire from the perimeter in the first half and basically did as he pleased all night.

Turning Point: Sydney closed the third quarter on a 9-2 run to put down a brief Tasmanian rally.

The game was over when: Not to be unkind, but this thing was done by halftime.

Trending in the right direction: Every player on the roster scored in another example of this group’s outstanding depth.

 

That’s 10 and counting.

A remarkable first half shooting exhibition has led the Brydens Lawyers Sydney Kings to their tenth consecutive victory, as they dominated the Tasmania JackJumpers 103-83 on Sunday afternoon at MyState Bank Arena in Hobart.

The purple and gold shot an amazing 75% from the field in the opening 20 minutes, equalling the all-time franchise record for shooting percentage in the first half of a game, set in Game Two of the 1992 semi-finals against the Melbourne Tigers.

Sydney’s outstanding W established the team’s outright third-best ever overall winning streak and equalled their second-best winning streak in a single season – the 10-0 start from the 2003/04 squad that went on to claim the Kings’ second NBL crown.

Led by MVP favourite, import point guard Jaylen Adams (20 points, six rebounds, seven assists, two steals), who was a perfect four of four from three-point range in the first half, Sydney was a well-oiled machine in that incredible opening stanza, hitting from everywhere on the floor and constantly stymieing the JackJumpers’ offence with a physical, trapping D.

“I think in the first half our defence is what really set the tone for us,” Brydens Lawyers Sydney Kings Head Coach Chase Buford said.

“We were aggressive right from the opening couple of possessions. They made a couple of tough shots, but every time it was over an extended hand, a long two or something like that.

“So, I’m really proud with the way we guarded. We were able to rebound a ton of those shots, and we just played fast in transition. We got our heads up, we got easy baskets and easy lay-ups in transition, and I think that set the tone for the whole game.”

Indeed, the first six minutes were total domination by the purple and gold.

Adams started the party with a triple, Xavier Cooks (14 points, nine rebounds, career-high nine assists, two blocked shots) had a block followed by a dunk in transition, and before Tasmania could blink, Sydney led 15-4.

The defence, the rebounding, the perimeter shooting and especially the ball movement – the team had five assists on their first six made field goals – all of it was on point as the Kings roared to a 30-14 advantage at the end of the opening period.

And Sydney would continue to show no mercy in the second quarter.

After a brief run from JackJumpers’ swingman Sam McDaniel (11 points, seven rebounds) early in the period, Adams bombed away for back-to-back triples, Ian Clark (seven points, five rebounds, three assists) had a deuce, and the rout was on.

Jarell Martin (13 points, three rebounds) then took over with nine points in the quarter, and the lead ballooned out to as much as 31 points before the Kings settled for a 57-29 lead at intermission.

The 28-point margin was Tasmania’s biggest halftime deficit of the season by a significant amount and Sydney’s 57 points were the most scored in a first half against the JackJumpers in NBL22.

The half-time shooting numbers from the Kings – 21 of 28 from the field and 7 of 11 from three-point range – were eye-popping, but it was the assist numbers in the first half that were so impressive, with the team dishing off for 15 dimes, a testament to unselfishness, great execution and stellar ball movement.

“The way (Tasmania) play ball screens, if you’re able to get behind their pressure, you should be playing three on two or four on three, and we had the numbers advantage in a lot of those,” Coach Buford said.

“I thought we did a good job getting the ball behind their coverage, hitting the roller, getting our head up – I think X hit ’Rell for a corner three that was just textbook in how you want to attack some of those things; we got a backdoor to ‘Swak’ (Wani Swaka Lo Buluk) off some of that same action.

“There were a lot of high-quality shots, a lot more than the last time we were here.”

To be frank, the second half was mainly about the home team trying to save some face, and to their immense credit the JackJumpers did give their 4,728 sell-out crowd some cheer with a 16-1 run midway through the third quarter keyed by Josh Adams (18 points), MiKyle McIntosh (17 points) and Clint Steindl (12 points, four rebounds), reducing a 32-point Kings’ lead to 17.

But Jaylen Adams quieted the Tasmanian fans with a deuce, Ian Clark found Angus Glover (11 points, four rebounds, two assists) for a triple, Gus had a steal and a pair of free throws and the impressive Tom Vodanovich (nine points, four rebounds) closed the scoring with another pair from the charity stripe to give Sydney a comfortable 78-56 advantage with ten minutes remaining.

Dejan Vasiljevic (10 points, two rebounds, two assists) got the fourth quarter underway with one of his trademark three-point bombs, Cooks added a deuce and Glover another two foul shots to open the period with a 9-1 run, allowing the Kings to put the game to bed with a 30-point lead.

And while the JackJumpers continued to fight, as has been their standard from day one, the result was never in doubt with Coach Buford able to get everyone on his roster some playing time, including talented development player Ignatius Mitchell, whose made free throw at the 2:30 mark was his first point in the National Basketball League.

About the only negative on an otherwise thoroughly dominant display from Sydney was 19 turnovers, many of them of the unforced variety to the chagrin of Coach Buford. Still, that’s just something to work on for a team that continues to go from strength to strength in yet another performance that set some even more marks, including:

This was the first time that the Kings have won consecutive games by 20-points under the 40-minute format after they demolished Perth by 22 in Round 17.

Sydney has now won six straight on the road, the fourth-best road winning streak in franchise history.

The Kings are the first team in NBL22 to score 100 points in consecutive games after dropping 102 in Perth, with 103 points their season-high.

Their 60.7% shooting for the game is the best by any team in NBL22 to date, and equals the eighth-best shooting performance in franchise history.

It was the first time that Sydney have ever scored 57 points by halftime in consecutive games in the 40-minute era after scoring 64 in Perth last week.

The Kings were 34 of 56 from the field, finished 11 of 27 from three-point range and made 24 of 34 free throws in their win. They crushed Tasmania on the glass 45-33, had 19 assists and a whopping 44 points in the paint, and held the JackJumpers to just 35% shooting from the field.

Sydney’s long road trip continues in Round 19 with a pair of dangerous matchups as they continue their march to the NBL22 playoffs. First up on Saturday April 9 is a trip to Adelaide to take on the 36ers, with tipoff scheduled for 8:00pm AEST. Then on Tuesday April 12, the purple and gold will play the New Zealand Breakers at Bendigo Basketball Stadium at 7:30pm AEST.

#WE ARE KINGS

 

BRYDENS LAWYERS SYDNEY KINGS 103 (Jaylen Adams 20, Cooks 14, Martin 13)
TASMANIA JACKJUMPERS 83 (Josh Adams 18, MiKyle McIntosh 17, Steindl 12) at MyState Bank Arena, Hobart.

BOXSCORE