Kings get it done for back-to-back wins at home

Written by Matt McQuade for Kings Media

Result: Brydens Lawyers Sydney Kings 75 Cairns Taipans 73

Stats That Matter: Kings 46% FG; Kings 40% 3PT FG; Rebound count Kings 38 Taipans 38; Kings 10 steals

Kings MVP: Jarell Martin was a force offensively for most of the night.

Turning Point: Shaun Bruce hit a clutch three from the corner with less than ninety seconds remaining.

The game was over when: The Taipans had a chance to tie the game with eight seconds left but coughed up the ball and the Kings held on.

Trending in the right direction: Daniel Kickert’s contribution off the bench was vitally important.

The Brydens Lawyers Sydney Kings have extended their winning streak to three games, with a thrilling 75-73 victory over the Cairns Taipans in front of a noisy crowd of 5,187 who braved the atrocious Sydney weather and witnessed a pulsating, back and forth battle Sunday afternoon at Qudos Bank Arena.

Sydney looked like they were cruising to a comfortable win when they hit their first three field goals of the third quarter and led 53-42 with seven minutes remaining in the period.

But from there, the offence completely dried up, with Cairns going on a stunning 15-0 run that pushed them to an unlikely 57-55 lead with ten minutes remaining.

It turned into a slugfest in the final quarter, with both teams scrapping hard and throwing punches like two heavyweight fighters.

A brilliant lay-up from Casper Ware (16 points, three rebounds, two assists) was answered with a dunk from Cairns’ forward Fabijan Krslovic (13 points, five rebounds). A triple from Craig Moller (six points, eight rebounds) and a put-back from Daniel Kickert (11 points, three rebounds) were answered with buckets to Nate Jawai (12 points, five rebounds) and Scott Machado (21 points, four rebounds, seven assists, three steals).

Sydney trailed 73-72 with ninety seconds left before Shaun Bruce (six points, two steals) knocked down the biggest three pointer of the night right in Machado’s face. Cameron Oliver (seven points, seven rebounds) then missed consecutive shots and Sydney led by a solitary basket in the final 30 seconds.

Fittingly, it came down to the final possession.

Jarell Martin (16 points, seven rebounds, two blocked shots) was fouled but missed two free throws with 18 seconds remaining, and the Taipans had an opportunity to get the game into overtime. Defended brilliantly by Ware, Machado had the ball and attacked the basket, but the Kings met him in the paint, forced a pass that was picked off by Brad Newley, and managed to run out the clock.

Throughout the game, Machado had an absorbing duel with Ware but was on the wrong side of the ledger this time after the Taipans had edged the Kings in their previous game held at the NBL Cup in Melbourne.

Importantly for the Kings, it was a win where they didn’t have their best stuff for most of the night against a desperate opponent who threw everything at them, yet Sydney still found a way.

“It was real ugly,” Head Coach Adam Forde admitted.

“Nate (Jawai) was a problem so we didn’t really have an answer for that. But the big thing for personally was I thought the turning point was ‘Kicks’’ little tip-in off a rebound that gave us a little bit of energy.”

“Credit to Cairns – they played Perth then took a flight here so we can appreciate how tough that is.”

“But that’s no excuse for us, it was polar opposites of how we went about it at the offensive end against Melbourne.”

Most would have pegged the Kings as strong favourites prior to the game, but the Taipans boast two wins over Sydney in NBL21 and figured to cause the purple and gold some problems, which eventuated in a ballgame that could have gone either way.

“I think I highlighted in the last presser that they matchup really well against us and they’ve got some confidence against us,” Coach Forde said.

“You could see it in their approach in the warmup – they definitely feel like they can get some wins against us.”

“We knew it was going to be this grind out game. They made it a half-court game because they are better at that than we are.”

Once again, Sydney’s bench came up huge in yet another pleasing sign, and Newley paid tribute to both Kickert and Moller in the aftermath.

“Kicks has had a hectic month or so, what with the injuries and his wife having a baby boy,” Brad said.

“He’s our captain, he’s our leader, and tonight he got going and did what he does well, which is put the ball in the hoop and be a voice on defence.”

“And Craig has been fantastic the last month and even been playing a little bit of three.”

“The way our group is at the moment, it’s good. You look over your shoulder and there’s another guy ready to go so you’ve got to stay on point. Craig’s passing and rebounding has been exceptional and it’s good to see it paying off for him.”

The Kings shot the ball at 46% from the field, 40% from three-point range and just 53% from the foul line on a night that gives them both their first three game winning streak of the season and gets them above the .500 mark for the first time with a 9-8 record.

Next up for the purple and gold is a blockbuster matchup in Round 11 with the Perth Wildcats on Sunday 28 March at Qudos Bank Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 3:00pm AEDT and tickets for the game are on sale now via Ticketek.

Rise With Us Sydney.

SYDNEY KINGS 75 (Ware 16, Martin 16, Vasiljevic 11, Kickert 11)
CAIRNS TAIPANS 73 (Machado 21, Krslovic 13, Jawai 12) at Qudos Bank Arena.

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