Kings crush Breakers for emphatic road win

The Sydney Kings returned to winning ways on Saturday, easily accounting for the New Zealand Breakers 98-83 at Wellington’s TSB Arena. 

Match summary 

Alex Toohey and Keli Leaupepe opened the Kings’ scoring before Xavier Cooks’ lay-in made it 6-0. Three quick ones from Leaupepe and the start grew to 9-0 before Matt Mooney ended their drought. A putback jam by Toohey and runaway slam by Cooks made it 13-3, as the Hoops Capital side continued to attack the rim. Mooney had the Breakers’ first eight points to keep the hosts in striking distance. A triple by Kouat Noi and score by Cam Oliver saw Sydney lead 20-11. Late buckets by Jaylen Adams and Tyler Robertson gave the purple and gold a 25-14 lead at the first break. 

Tacko Fall then started to dominate the paint for the hosts, as the Kings’ lead was reduced to nine but Leaupepe’s shooting from downtown pushed it back into double-figures. Scores by Cooks, home-town hero Izayah Le’afa and Oliver kept Sydney’s scoreboard ticking over, before Noi landed a triple. An and-one by Adams and shot from downtown by Oliver ensued, before the former nailed a pull-up jumper. A score in the final seconds by Cooks gave the harbour city side a 12-point lead at the main break. 

PURCHASE YOUR KINGS HOME GAME TICKETS NOW

A Fall slam closed the margin to eight but a huge alley-oop from Shaune Bruce to Cooks, quickly followed by an and-one by Oliver steadied the ship for Sydney. Efforts by Toohey and Makuach Maluach made a 14-point game.  The highlights kept coming for the Kings when Adams connected with Oliver for a huge alley-oop. Noi then exploded from downtown, with two quick triples, as Sydney outscored their rivals 25-15 – to lead by 22 at the final change. 

Four quick points by Adams extended the lead but New Zealand hit back with five of their own. Former Wellington Saints Le’afa and Cooks then combined for an emphatic dunk. That was the first of seven straight points by the NBL23 MVP, which was followed by a cold triple by Adams. Down the stretch, coach Brian Goorjian emptied his bench, as Sydney won by 15, 

Where the match was decided 

The round 11 victory was set up by statistical wins by Sydney in field goal percentage (48-42), assists (23-15), steals (7-3), points off turnovers (21-7) and bench points (57-26) - while forcing New Zealand into 10 more turnovers (16-6).

Key moment 

A strong start to both the first and third terms, in which the Kings outscored their rivals by double-digits, laid the platform for their ninth win of NBL25. 

Players of the game 

Cooks and Adams were both exceptional for the Kings in the win, with the former adding 20 points, three assists, two steals, one rebound and one blocks, while the NBL22 MVP tallied 20 points, eight dimes, three boards and one block. 

The others to score in double-figures for Sydney were Noi (19) and Oliver (12). 

What’s next 

Goorjian’s team, who are now 9-7, now return to Sydney for a home game on Sunday, December 15 against Brisbane from 4.15pm AEDT at Qudos Bank Arena. 

Tickets to that game, which will see the Hoops Capital club celebrate Heritage Round, are still available here.