Kings dismantle Bullets to extend NBL road win record

The Sydney Kings returned to the NBL winner’s circle on Sunday, defeating the Brisbane Bullets, in front of a sell-out crowd at Nissan Arena, 102-85. 

The 17-point victory sees the harbour city side extend its all-time NBL away wins record to 15 games. 

Match summary 

Both the Bullets, who had won the past four contests between the sides in Brisbane, and the Kings started slow, as the scores were tied 2-all after 3.33 minutes of game action. Following that, the hosts rattled off seven straight, forcing Chase Buford into a time-out. Despite the Kings going scoreless for close to six minutes, strong play by Xavier Cooks and Dejan Vasiljevic at the end of the term helped Sydney go into the first change only down 21-16. 

Five quick ones from Vasiljevic sparked a 7-0 run for the visitors, to give them their first lead of the game. That impressive streak extended to 14-1 when Shaun Bruce found Jordi Hunter for a jam. Brisbane stemmed the flow temporarily before numerous energy plays by Justin Simon kept the scoreboard ticking over for the Kings – who led 47-40 at the main break.  

The third quarter was much the same as its predecessor, as the Kings opened the term on an 18-6 run, sparked by Derrick Walton Jr and Tim Soares. The Kings’ ability to push the pace and put pressure on the ring continued to cause plenty of headaches for the hosts, as Buford's side led by 15 heading in the last. 

Once again, the Kings came out of the break on fire, with Cooks creating open looks for his teammates and the likes of Angus Glover and Simon finishing the plays – as the lead extended to a game-high 22 points. From there, DJ Mitchell made some shots for the Bullets, to close the lead but the damage was done – as the Kings ran out winners 102-85. 

Where the match was decided 

From a statistical point of view, the Kings outplayed the Bullets across the board, from field goal (49 per cent to 44), rebounds (42-40), assists (25-23), steals (7-5), turnovers (8-14) and second-chance points (16-8). 

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Sydney still struggled from the charity stripe (14/19 for 73 per cent) but out-shot their rivals, who only managed (13/19 for 68 per cent). 

Key moments 

The start of the second (14-1), third (18-6) and fourth quarter (14-7) for Sydney proved matching-winning for the visitors – playing committed defence and causing plenty of turnovers, which allowed the Kings to get out on the break and play their dangerous brand of hoops. These three four-minute stretches laid the platform for the Kings’ fourth triumph of NBL23. 

Player of the game 

Justin Simon was absolutely everywhere on Sunday afternoon, scoring a career-high (23 points including 8/10 from the field), to go along with eight rebounds, two triples, two assists and one block – not to mention his energy up and down the floor being the catalyst for the Kings’ big win. 

Special mention to fellow forward Xavier Cooks, who nearly recorded a triple-double with eight points, nine boards and nine dimes.

What’s next 

The Hoops Capital outfit, who move to the top spot on the ladder with a 4-1, will now return to Qudos Bank Arena for their third-straight Friday night encounter. This time round, the reigning champions will take on the Adelaide 36ers, who recently defeated the Phoenix Suns, in round four from 7.30pm AEDT on Friday.