Hawks spoil Kings' Christmas night celebrations

The Illawarra Hawks have spoiled the Sydney Kings' Christmas night celebrations at Qudos Bank Arena, by defeating them 94-90 on Monday night.

The Freeway Series win, played in front of a Christmas night record crowd of 8,578, ended the Kings' eight-game win streak against their NSW rivals.

Match summary 

A foul in the Kings' favour and a lay-up from Wani Swaka Lo Buluk saw the scoreboard tied in the second annual Christmas night clash, though swift scores from Jordi Hunter and DJ Hogg had the purple and gold soaring ahead with no time for questions. Back-to-back two-pointers from Jaylen Adams were quick to cancel out Tyler Harvey’s fade away, as the Kings built a six-point lead. The Hawks clawed to close the gap, with a layup from Gary Clark, however quick work from Alex Toohey and Jaylin Galloway shot down efforts. Another jump shot from Galloway saw the Kings at a double-digit lead over the visitors, with Adams clutching up quickly to keep the Hawks out of arm's reach. Late attempts from the Hawks’ Sam Froling sparked nerves though the Kings maintained composure down to the final seconds, aided by Kout Noi to enter the second quarter ahead by 12 (29-17).

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On a high, points from Shaun Bruce and Denzel Valentine kicked off the quarter early for the Kings, as Illawarra struggled under the host's defence. Contributions from Hogg had the points margin widening significantly (to 36-19). A quick on-the-ball triple from Hyunjung Lee pushed the points deficit significantly, aided by fouls in the Hawks' favour, with a lay-up from Swaka Lo Buluk breaking the purple and gold's double-digit lead (36-29). Swift on the rebounds, Sam Froling stitched the points gap up, as the Kings struggled to keep the Hawks at bay as a step-back jump shot from Harvey drew the teams even closer. With a comeback looming,  Galloway, Bolden and Valentine pulled through to ensure the Kings' reign continued into half-time, as they entered up by two (48-46).

A triple from Galloway drew the Kings away, with a strong play from Kouat Noi working to cancel out Froling's lay up. Despite this, contributions from Froling and Justin Robinson allowed the Hawks to draw the point margin to one (55-54). Traded baskets by the two NSW rivals kept the points gap close before a bucket from Hunter had the Kings trailing away (62-58). Hogg then nailed a jump shot to ensure the Kings remained comfortably ahead. The Hawks however couldn't be grounded, as Lachlan Olbrich and Lee led the Hawks to a three-point deficit. A huge alley-oop dunk from Bolden attempted to stabilise the gap, though it was no match for Illawarra as triples from Lee and Robinson provoked a lead handover, the Hawks entering the final quarter up by four (77-73).

An early triple from Galloway drew the points margin back to one before a quick fade away from Froling extended the Hawks' lead. Bolden then came through with a jump shot, which saw the board tied 81-all before a triple from Noi placed the lead back into the King's hands. A dunk from Swaka Lo Buluk ensured this lead was short-lived, as the Hawks reclaimed their position at the top. Matching the energy, a foul in the purple and gold's favour pushed Illawarra back to the bottom. The board remained tied into the final minutes, broken in the Hawks' favour with a layup from Robinson, however, fouls in the Kings’ favour hung this tie back up. The Hawks managed to knock this tie down in the final seconds leaving the game with four points on the Kings (94-90). 

Where the match was decided 

The Hawks secured the Christmas night victory by dominating the rebound count 45-36, as well as winning the statistical categories three-point shooting (37-27 per cent), points in  the paint (46-36), second-chance points (16-6), points off turnovers (11-5) and fast-break points (21-5),

Key moment 

The Hawks' round 12 win was set up by a 29-19 second quarter.

Player of the game 

Jaylen Adams top-scored for the Hoops Capital side with 24 points, to go along with his five assists, four rebounds, two steals and one block.

Other Kings to reach double figures were Hogg (15), Noi (14), Galloway (11) and Bolden (10).

Watch Mahmoud Abdelfattah and Jordi Hunter's post-game press conference via Sydney Kings' YouTube channel above. While you're there, be sure to hit subscribe, to ensure you never miss out on any of our great videos. 

What’s next 

Mahmoud Abdlefattah;'s side, who are now 9-8, next host Cairns on Sunday, January 29 at Qudos Bank Arena from 7.30pm AEDT.

That fixture is the second leg of the Hoops Capital double-header, with the Flames taking on the Townsville Fire prior.

Tickets for the hoops extravaganza are still available here.