GAME REPORT: Kings dethroned in Melbourne thanks to United third quarter surge

Result: Melbourne United 105 Sydney Kings 95

Stats that matter: United 21 assists, Kings 16 turnovers, United 62 points in the paint, United 40 points off the bench

Kings MVP: Torrey Craig was huge all game for the purple and gold.

Turning Point: Melbourne’s 9-2 run to start the third period gave them control of the game and they never relinquished it.

The game was over when: United’s Cole Anthony splashed a long-range triple with just over two minutes remaining.

Trending in the right direction: Jayden Stone is continuing to find his feet in the NBL.

Rough night at the office.

A third quarter charge from Melbourne United has powered them to a 105-95 win over the Sydney Kings at John Cain Arena on Sunday afternoon.

Melbourne’s first victory over Sydney in the past four tries was set up by a 9-2 run to open a third stanza that set the Kings back on their heels, and despite fighting hard to the end, Sydney was never really in the hunt in the second half as they saw their record drop to 5-3 on the season.

The Kings had no answers to the class of Melbourne’s superstar point guard Cole Anthony (30 points, six rebounds, nine assists) nor the size and efficiency of import forward Josh Oduro (27 points, five rebounds) and their normally stout defence was picked apart by United’s pick and roll game all afternoon.

“I felt like we were a step off defensively,” a disappointed Sydney Kings Head Coach Brian Goorjian said afterwards.

“We weren’t contesting shots in the first quarter, and as the game went on, we stopped moving the ball.

“That took the energy away from us defensively.

“We surged and I thought we had a chance, but in the fourth quarter we just couldn’t get stops. We struggled with the ball screen, and unlike us we struggled in transition.

“Offensively we had some really disappointing possessions and strung a few of those together, and it took the air from us.

“There’s gotta be an energy to what we do, and I thought we lost that, and the reason for it was the frustration from the offensive end.”

Indeed, the longer the game went on, the more Melbourne’s size, length and defensive activity bothered Sydney, who shot the ball at 46.2% from the field, and although the team finished with 22 assists, there was too much iso ball from a group that prides itself on getting the ball through hands.

Still, the Kings hung tough for a half despite being down important cog Matthew Dellavedova against a super-talented United group. The opening 20 minutes featured no fewer than 19 lead changes and eight ties, and nine points from forward Andrew Carr (18 points, 11 rebounds, two blocked shots) had Sydney down just one, 32-31, at the end of the first.

Both teams continued to trade buckets in the second with Torrey Craig (22 points, 13 rebounds, three assists, two steals) stepping up for the purple and gold, but Anthony had 11 points in the period to give his club a 56-51 lead at intermission.

The third period was a hard watch if you were a Kings fan. Melbourne stifled Sydney at almost every turn, shutting down what had been the league’s best offence coming in and forcing multiple turnovers.

The 9-2 Melbourne run to start the quarter set the tone, forcing the purple and gold into catchup mode, and with Kendric Davis (12 points, five assists) having an off night, United continued to press the action, leading by as much as 16 points before a Carr triple made it 77-64 United with ten minutes remaining.

And although Craig tried to rescue the situation – as he almost did in Canberra in his team’s loss to New Zealand – with three fourth period triples as part of his 15 points in the frame, the Kings never got closer than nine points the rest of the way with Melbourne earning early bragging rights in this season’s rivalry.

It doesn’t get any easier for the defending National Basketball League champions as Round Seven of NBL27 represents the Kings’ most significant challenge to date.

Two road games await the purple and gold within a 48-hour period against a pair of tough opponents, beginning Wednesday 28 October at 9:30pm AEST in RAC Arena in Perth against the Wildcats and concluding Friday 30 October at 7:30pm in MyState Bank Arena against the Tasmania JackJumpers.

MELBOURNE UNITED 105 (Anthony 30, Oduro 27, Travers 19)
SYDNEY KINGS 95 (Craig 22, Carr 18, Cooks 14) at John Cain Arena, Melbourne

CROWD: 8,523

BOXSCORE

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