Kings grind out thrilling win against Taipans

Kouat Noi has cemented himself as the Sixth Man of the Year favourite by steering the Sydney Kings to a 91-87 win over Cairns on Sunday, in front of 10,224 fans at Qudos Bank Arena.

The win also saw coach Brian Goorjian celebrate his 250th Kings game in winning fashion.

Match summary 

Cairns raced out to a 9-2 lead but eight straight by Jaylen Adams settled it for the hosts. This sparked the Kings' offence, as did the injection of Sixth Man of the Year front-runner Kouat Noi. Improved defence and an empathic alley-oop combination between Shaun Bruce and Cam Oliver helped the host close the margin to just two at the first change. 

Congrats King 👑 #TakeTheThrone @xaviercooks10 pic.twitter.com/cdvJprOZRQ

— Sydney Kings (@SydneyKings) January 12, 2025

A fast-break lay-up by Cooks got the hosts started, as they got their noses in front (29-21) thanks to a 12-2 run. Continued work on the glass by Cooks (who collected his 1000th career board) and buckets by Noi kept Sydney pushing ahead. Despite that improved play, a late bucket by Kyrin Galloway made it a 39-38 game at half-time of the low-scoring affair. 

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Cooks scored the harbour city side’s first two buckets but Rob Edwards powered the Snakes back in front thanks to an 11-4 start to the period. An Alex Toohey lay-in stopped the run before Bul Kuol nailed a corner three and Oliver landed one from the win – giving the purple and gold a 51-50 lead. A slam by the latter anda  smooth lay-in by Adams extended Sydney’s lead to five. Another quickfire five from Noi ensued while Oliver’s impressive game continued on the offensive end. At the end of three, despite a jumper by Taran Armstrong as time expired, the Hoops Capital side led by two. 

Cometh the hour, cometh the Noi 🤫

Live on ESPN and 10 BOLD!#TakeTheThrone @KouatN pic.twitter.com/tvfbPcWQ59

— Sydney Kings (@SydneyKings) January 12, 2025

Adams sliced through for a lay-in on the first possession before Edwards replied with a triple. An Oliver block on Edwards ignited the Kings’ fast break, which Cooks converted for a three-point play, seeing the lead grow to seven. A suspect refereeing decision led to Goorjian receiving a technical foul and Cairns closing the game to just two. Another Edwards triple and the visitors had tied the game at 73-all with just over five to play. When Akoldah Gak finished inside, Adam Forde’s side had the lead. Armstrong and Oliver traded buckets in the back-and-forth affair before Noi added another three. The latter and Adams combined for the final 14 points of the contest, helping the Kings secure the four-point win. 

Where the match was decided 

Sydney secured the win on the back of superior statistics in rebounds (44-38), points in the paint (50-20), second-chance points (17-11), points off turnovers (18-4) and bench points (44-22). 

Key moment 

In the final 1.59, the Kings outscored the Taipans 11-6 to secure their 14 victory of NBL25. 

Players of the game 

Noi shone, scoring an equal career-high 27 points (including 4/8 from downtown), five rebounds and one steal. 

Other standouts were Oliver (15 points and 17 rebounds), Cooks (19 points and eight boards) and Adams (18 points and five dimes). 

What’s next 

Goorjian’s team, who are now 14-10, stay in Sydney for another Qudos Bank Arena clash, this time against Tasmania on Sunday, January 19 from 2.15pm AEDT 

Tickets to the round 17 clash, which will be part of Hoops Capital’s Pink Hoops double-header which will also see the Flames take on Adelaide, are still available here.