Kings bounce back with superb win over competition leaders

By Matt McQuade

Result: Brydens Lawyers Sydney Kings 84 South East Melbourne Phoenix 73

Stats that matter: Rebound count Kings 50 Phoenix 44; Kings 15 offensive rebounds; Phoenix 14 turnovers; Kings 40 points in the paint

Kings MVP: Xavier Cooks was sensational and the difference between the two teams.

Turning Point: The Kings were red-hot from the perimeter in the first quarter to establish a lead that they never relinquished.

The game was over when: A fourth quarter steal and slam from Cooks capped a terrific night at the Q.

Trending in the right direction: Dejan Vasiljevic hit two three-point bombs in the opening quarter to continue his comeback from injury.

Now that’s more like it.

Just 48 hours after a devastating loss to Melbourne United, the Brydens Lawyers Sydney Kings have responded in the best possible way with an outstanding 84-73 win over the previously undefeated South East Melbourne Phoenix on Saturday night at Qudos Bank Arena.

Despite missing two imports and dealing with the season-ending loss of big man Jordan Hunter, the purple and gold jumped the Phoenix early and never trailed in a result that takes them to 2-2 on the season.

After leading by as many as 19 points early in the final period, the home team even had to withstand a late run from South East Melbourne, but showed poise and class under fire to record their second home win of the NBL22 season.

“We had to respond from our performance the other night; there’s no two ways about it,” a happy Brydens Lawyers Sydney Kings Head Coach Chase Buford said afterwards.

“It was encouraging and good to see the fight from our guys tonight. We came out, we played with a ton of heart, we guarded our butts off, and I thought that every run they made, we had an answer for.”

“They cut it to eight in the fourth but we kept our composure, did what we needed to do, kept executing, and got enough stops down the stretch to get it done.”

Sydney came out with noticeable intensity and desperation after their tough night in Victoria and outworked the visitors for most of the ballgame. It was a game that showed this young group has plenty of pride and character, and it’s a win that even this early in the campaign could be season defining.

Xavier Cooks and Jarell Martin shouldered an enormous burden with so much scoring missing from the Kings’ line-up, and both forwards accepted their responsibility as true leaders, coming up with huge plays to constantly keep the Phoenix at bay.

Cooks (19 points, 11 rebounds, two assists, two steals) was everywhere on the court and a low post puzzle that the Phoenix never solved. His fourth quarter steal and jam to put away the visitors for good was the signature play of the game.

“X has been great for us all year,” Coach Buford said.

“He was him tonight. He did a great job, he attacked, he facilitated, he rebounded the ball.”

“I thought he gave us a great game.”

And Martin (12 points, 13 rebounds) was quiet early offensively, but worked hard on the glass for a season-high in boards and even took a pair of critical charges down the stretch.

Importantly, Sydney’s frontline stars had plenty of help. Everyone who stepped on the court contributed in a perfect example of what the next man up mentality is really all about. Indeed, everyone who took to the court wearing purple and gold hit the scoresheet.

A first quarter onslaught keyed the heartening victory. Led by Angus Glover (15 points, three rebounds), the Kings nailed a whopping seven triples in the opening frame at a 70% clip, backing up their torrid shooting with an active, switching defence that took South East Melbourne completely out of their rhythm.

Despite five points from Phoenix superstar big man Zhou Qi (17 points, 13 rebounds, five blocked shots), who had the large Chinese contingent in the audience in raptures any time he went near the ball, Sydney raced to a stunning 29-14 advantage after one.

The Kings extended their lead to as much as 18 early in the second quarter before South East Melbourne finally kicked into gear and started to turn up the heat defensively.

However, Sydney’s defence was also in overdrive as they restricted the competition’s highest-scoring club to just 31 points in the first half, taking a 43-31 lead into the main break.

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The third quarter was more of the same from the home team, as they continued to smother their opponent.

Scoring dried up from both teams, but importantly, Sydney was controlling the tempo and responding to any Phoenix surge. Cooks led the way and did a superb job on Phoenix scoring leader Mitch Creek (22 points, five rebounds), hounding him at every turn and forcing him into multiple errors.

Still, South East Melbourne hung in there and trailed by a gettable 11 points, down 57-46, with a quarter remaining. There was still life for the visitors, and dangerous weapons to be concerned about in the form of Creek, Qi and Ryan Broekhoff, who had been kept silent for the majority of the game but remains a perimeter threat that must be accounted for.

But the Kings came out strongly to start the fourth, blasting South East Melbourne with a key 8-0 run in just 90 seconds, capped by a triple from Shaun Bruce (nine points, two assists) that pushed the margin out to 19 and set up the home team for victory.

And despite Qi using his extreme length to dominate the airspace around the basket, Sydney’s youngsters showed no fear in constantly attacking the 7’2” behemoth down the stretch – Glover epitomised that with a strong drive to the rack for the deuce over the Chinese star, pumping up the 6,379 fans who went home feeling a whole lot better about themselves following this excellent performance from their heroes.

Sydney shot the ball at 42% from the field, hit ten triples from 32 attempts and were 12 of 15 from the free throw line. They outrebounded the Phoenix 50-44, grabbed 15 offensive boards and forced 14 South East Melbourne turnovers.

The Kings close an eventful Round Three with another home game at Qudos Bank Arena on Wednesday December 22 against the newest NBL franchise Tasmania JackJumpers. Tickets for that game are available via Ticketek.

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BRYDENS LAWYERS SYDNEY KINGS 84 (Cooks 19, Glover 15, Martin 12)
SOUTH EAST MELBOURNE PHOENIX 73 (Creek 22, Qi 17, Le’Afa 13) at Qudos Bank Arena

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