Kings' comeback falls short against Wildcats

The Sydney Kings' comeback attempt fell short on Sunday afternoon, going down 104-98 to the Perth Wildcats at Qudos Bank Arena.

The six-point defeat, played in front 13,138 fans, marked the first time the Kings' first loss in Sydney to the Wildcats since April 8, 2021.

Match summary 

Three for Tai Webster, and fouls in Perth's favour had the Wildcats up by five early before a jump shot from Denzel Valentine put the Kings on the board. Jaylen Adams followed, shut down by back-to-back threes from Jordan Usher and Bryce Cotton. Adams put up another two, though fouls had the Wildcats to a 10-point advantage. Traded threes between Valentine and Jesse Wagstaff kept the gap stable before a three-point play for Usher pushed it to 14. Angus Glover and Shaun Bruce clutched up with three, though it wasn't enough to draw the Wildcats home, the Kings closing the first down by 14 (34-20).

Some TUFF offence sees us level at the half ?#LetItReign pic.twitter.com/FLifZMpw8E

— Sydney Kings (@SydneyKings) January 21, 2024

Adams opened the second on a three-point play, before fouls in the purple and gold's favour, before an and-one from Kouat Noi (which saw him bring up his 1000th career point) closed the gap to seven. Webster and Keanu Picker put up Perth's first points of the period. A creative Adams and Jordi Hunter link-up kept the gap under 10 before three from Webster pushed it over. Contributions from Jaylin Galloway, Hunter and Makuach Maluach closed the gap up to just three before time out. A fade away from Usher drew the Wildcats back, with three for Maluach keeping them tame. Cotton kept Perth's lead intact, before Maluach and Valentine saw the board tied. Maluach brought the lead to the Kings, Kristian Doolittle pulling up to see Perth up by one at half-time.

1K pic.twitter.com/jmijhl5TgH

— Sydney Kings (@SydneyKings) January 21, 2024

A jump shot from Adams saw the lead with the Kings early into the third before Usher brought it back to Perth. Alex Toohey and Webster tugged the lead between the teams, with Pinder and Usher drawing Perth's lead out to seven. Hyrum Harris put up three, matched quickly by Adams. Noi, on 1000 career points, came with a lay-up, shut down by Webster, before Adams put up three. Noi put up another lay-up, Maluach with five quick ones to seat the Kings back on the throne. Usher put up three, Sydney entering the final 10 down by two (80-78). 

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Doolittle opened the final quarter up, followed by three from Wagstaff. Galloway put the Kings on the board with a layup, matched by Perth's Pinder. A three-point play from Adams was unable to match four from Cotton, pushing the Kings back down. Consecutive free throws closed the gap up to just three, with Adams closing it to one, before drawing the game to a tie. Traded threes kept the board tied before Harris and fouls in Perth's favour put them ahead. Hunter put up two, to see the gap back at three, it was a catfight until the end, though fouls in Perth's favour marked the end of the game. The Kings were unable to tame the Wildcats as they walked away on a six-point loss (104-98).

Where the match was decided 

Perth secured the Pride Round win thanks to superior field goal percentage (47-39), assists (21-15), steals (10-3) and fast-break points (13-4) - while committing fewer turnovers (8-13).

Key moment 

A slow start, which saw the visitors lead 34-20, at the first break proved pivotal, as the Hoops Capital side was playing catch-up for the majority of the contest.

Player of the game 

Adams was once again the high man for the Kings, finishing with 29 points, two assists and one steal.

Maluach was the other standout, injecting 18 points off the bench - including three triples, to go with his four boards and one steal.

Finally, Hunter finished with 15 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks.

Watch Makuach Maluach and Mahmoud Abdelfattah's post-game press conference via the 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 Abdelfattah’s side, who are now 11-12, now travel to Victoria to take on the South East Melbourne Phoenix at the State Basketball Centre from 7.30pm AEDT on Thursday, January 25.

The Kings will then return home three days later to host league-leaders Melbourne for a round 17 clash at Qudos Bank Arena.

Tickets for that 4pm Sunday blockbuster are still available here.