GAME REPORT: Kings hold off Phoenix to win third straight

Result: Sydney Kings 110 South East Melbourne Phoenix 99

Stats that matter: Kings 50% FG, Kings 28 assists, Kings 25 fast break points, Kings 62 points in the paint

Kings MVP: Xavier Cooks had a double-double, but it was more than that – every minute X was on the floor, he saw what the Kings needed and acted accordingly.

Turning Point: Sydney held South East Melbourne to 13 second quarter points, a period that changed the game.

The game was over when: Makuach Maluach stole an inbound pass and jammed it home to make it a 14-point Kings lead with just over two minutes remaining.

Trending in the right direction: Matthew Dellavedova’s return from injury was welcome and he got through the game with no concerns.

Homecourt protected.

The Sydney Kings engineered the largest comeback of the young National Basketball League season to overpower the South East Melbourne Phoenix 110-99 on Sunday afternoon at Afterpay Arena.

A raucous crowd of 11,123 was shellshocked in the opening quarter when the Phoenix came out nuclear-hot from the perimeter, opening up a 21-point advantage within the first four minutes – a run that included 16 straight points and six triples – and holding the Kings to 11 points just past the midway point of the period.

But when Sydney Kings Head Coach Brian Goorjian went to his bench, a group that was missing Jayden Stone (illness) but had been bolstered by the return of Matthew Dellavedova (seven points, four assists), they turned the game in the Kings’ favour.

Led by the reserves, slowly but surely the purple and gold got multiple stops and worked their way back into the contest.

“I just felt like there was plenty of time,” Coach Goorjian said afterwards.

“Over the course of the last month, we’ve been getting lots of contributions from the bench.

“Tonight, it was a concern losing (Jayden) Stone, because he’s been instrumental in our last two wins, but we get Delly back, and what he brings settled us down, it got Kendrick (Davis) back in the game, and as it was with the championship last year, if we go where we need to go, he’s going to be instrumental.”

Indeed, even though the Phoenix would drop 38 points in the first ten minutes – the most the Kings have conceded to an opponent in the first period this season – and South East Melbourne superstar Nathan Sobey (33 points, six rebounds, four assists) looked unstoppable with 15 points, Sydney trailed by just 10 at the end of the opening frame and it was clear the tide had turned.

An 11-3 run to start the second quarter capped by a triple from the brilliant Torrey Craig (23 points, five rebounds) quickly pulled the Kings within four, forcing Phoenix coach Josh King to burn a timeout, and while the visitors would respond, Sydney kept pouring it on.

Then it was the turn of the explosive Will Johnston to make an impact off the bench. The Sydney youngster was on fire in the second quarter, blasting seven of his 13 points in the period capped by a three pointer that gave the purple and gold a seemingly improbable 54-51 lead at intermission, considering how rough the start had been for the home team.

And there would be no let-up from the Kings in the third, with Kendric Davis (28 points, nine assists, three rebounds, two steals) the chief architect.

After being held to just eight points in the half, KD took over the game, not just with his scoring, but with his leadership and facilitation. He had a personal run of ten straight points that included a pair of spectacular drives to the rack, and by the time he was done, Sydney had exploded to a 17-point advantage before Phoenix swingman Tanner Krebs (16 points, four rebounds) had eight points of his own to keep South East Melbourne within 13 at the last change, down 83-70.

Always a threat to come back given the extreme pace at which they play and the number of three-point shots they attempt, South East Melbourne were far from done as the fourth quarter got underway.

Sobey and Krebs started heating up, and a three from Sobey trimmed the margin to just four, 93-89, with 6:22 remaining, giving the fans at Afterpay Arena cause for concern.

However, they need not have worried, as Xavier Cooks (15 points, 14 rebounds, four assists, two blocked shots) was on the floor, and he wasn’t about to let his team lose.

In a key sequence, Sydney’s captain grabbed two massive offensive rebounds and knocked down a pair of free throws to settle his team down, and when Makuach Malauch (14 points, three rebounds, three assists, three steals, two blocked shots) stole the ball and jammed it home followed by a patented Delly floater, the Kings had run off eight straight points to make their lead double figures again and that was effectively all she wrote.

“He just provides whatever the team needs on any given night,” Matt Dellavedova said of Xavier’s outstanding effort in the post-game press conference.

“He had six massive O-boards tonight, a couple of massive blocks, he’s distributing the ball, he’s six of seven from the field, he’s three of three from the line.

“On any given night, he’s just doing whatever the team needs to win.”

Late dunks from Craig and Maluach had the crowd on their feet, and Sydney closed strongly for their third straight victory, a win that returns the Kings to the top of the NBL ladder with an impressive 8-3 record.

Next up for the six-time National Basketball League champions is a road/home double in Round 9. On Friday 13 November the team heads to Cairns to take on the Taipans, with tipoff scheduled for 7:30pm AEDT, before they return to Afterpay Arena on Sunday 15 November to do battle with the New Zealand Breakers in Indigenous Round. Tipoff is 3:00pm and tickets are on sale via Ticketek.

SYDNEY KINGS 110 (Davis 28, Craig 23, Cooks 15)
SOUTH EAST MELBOURNE PHOENIX 99 (Sobey 33, Krebs 16, Morin 12) at Afterpay Arena

CROWD: 11,123

BOXSCORE

‍