Kings fall short to Hawks in a nailbiter

Result: Illawarra Hawks 85 Sydney Kings 82

Stats That Matter: Hawks 18 offensive rebounds; Hawks seven blocked shots; Kings 11 three pointers; Kings 32 points in the paint

Kings MVP: Casper Ware’s fourth quarter brilliance almost drove the Kings to an unlikely victory.

Turning Point: Justin Simon’s offensive rebound and put-back with twenty seconds remaining.

The game was over when: Brad Newley missed a corner three that would have sent the game into overtime

Trending in the right direction: Didi Louzada saw his first action in some time and will be better for the run.

The Brydens Lawyers Sydney Kings have shown tremendous fighting spirit in barely going down 85-82 to the Illawarra Hawks on Sunday afternoon at Qudos Bank Arena.

Despite being without their entire frontcourt for the majority of the fourth quarter, the purple and gold made the Hawks fight for everything in yet another display of their outstanding character.

Down by eight at the half and being pounded on the offensive glass, the team hunkered down defensively in the third quarter, holding the Hawks to just 11 points in the frame and turning what was looking like a comfortable Illawarra win into a no holds barred slugfest.

In a riveting final quarter, there were big plays on both sides, but particularly from Casper Ware, who had 10 points in the period and made some huge shots whenever the Kings needed them.

It went back and forth with multiple lead changes throughout the last ten minutes. Illawarra gunner Tyler Harvey (25 points, four rebounds) answered Ware’s scoring explosion with 12 huge points of his own, and after a Justin Simon (12 points, seven rebounds, two assists, three steals) offensive rebound and put-back for the go-ahead score, followed by two clutch free throws from Deng Adel (11 points), it came down to the final possession.

Brad Newley (six points, six rebounds) had a chance to send the game into overtime with a good look at a corner triple, but he was just off the mark, and Illawarra celebrated in Coach Brian Goorjian’s return to Sydney.

But this was a remarkable effort from the Kings under the circumstances. Already dreadfully undermanned, the team copped yet another massive hit when Jarell Martin (15 points, two rebounds, two assists) slipped on the court and suffered a leg injury in the closing stages of the third period, taking no further part in the game.

His loss was bad enough, and in the fourth quarter, both Jordan Hunter and Thomas Vodanovich fouled out early, leaving Craig Moller (five points, eight rebounds) to play the middle against a big Illawarra frontcourt the rest of the way.

At one point, the team was down to a six-man rotation, but came up with a response to every Hawk score right till the end, and the 6,534 in attendance were roaring in an attempt to will their heroes over the line.

Illawarra may have won the battle, but the Kings lost no friends with their incredibly gutsy display under yet more adversity, although another slow start was a concern for their coaching staff.

“Obviously the first half wasn’t great again and we highlighted that,” a disappointed Head Coach Adam Forde said afterwards.

“Just those second chance points and O-boards – we dug ourselves a little bit of a hole to start.”

“You can’t fault the guys for really stepping up, but why do we have to wait until there’s a double-digit deficit to shift that momentum.”

“We had our chance, but really it’s that first half we need to do a better job on.”

Indeed, the first half belonged to the Hawks, whose three-point shooting led by Harvey and Justinian Jessup (12 points, six rebounds, three assists) staked the visitors to a 26-20 first quarter advantage.

Illawarra pushed their margin out in the second period to as much as 12 points before Martin keyed an 8-0 run to pull the Kings back in it, but 11 offensive rebounds and 15 second chance points in the opening stanza from the Hawks were a big reason why they took a 50-42 lead into the main break.

However, Sydney made the right adjustments during intermission and came out a great deal more focused in the second half, changing up their defence to stymie the Illawarra bigs and grabbing control of the tempo.

The home team trailed by just two points – 61-59 – with ten minutes remaining, and as we have gotten used to over the years in the Freeway Series, it was a game that came down to the wire.

In the end, as these things invariably do, it came down to who would make the game-changing plays when it really counted, and unfortunately for Kings fans, it was Illawarra’s Justin Simon who was the difference down the stretch.

In the space of a minute, Simon stole the ball from Ware, had the go-ahead score then tied up Ware to force a change of possession – a play that ultimately allowed the Hawks to escape with their hard-fought victory.

But Sydney should come away from that game with their heads held high, as tough as it is to experience a home loss in front of the best fans in the league. There was a great deal to admire about the way the purple and gold went about it this Sunday afternoon, and with Didi Louzada making his return, there’s much to look forward to.

The Kings now head to Melbourne for the month-long NBL Cup, with current game days and times subject to change given the recent lockdown in Victoria. Stay tuned to the Sydney Kings social channels for further updates.

Rise With Us Sydney.

ILLAWARRA HAWKS 85 (Harvey 25, Adel 13, Simon 12, Jessup 12)
SYDNEY KINGS 82 (Ware 21, Vasiljevic 18, Martin 15) at Qudos Bank Arena.

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