Kings keep finals hopes alive

Written by Matt McQuade for Kings Media 

Result: Brydens Lawyers Sydney Kings 79 Illawarra Hawks 73

Stats That Matter: Rebound count Kings 43 Hawks 39; Kings 10 three pointers; Kings 16 points from turnovers; Kings 32 points in the paint

Kings MVP: Jarell Martin’s first half performance helped set up a crucial win.

Turning Point: A fourth quarter 12-0 run was the difference in the end.

The game was over when: Shaun Bruce buried a triple with less than two minutes remaining.

Trending in the right direction: Another great outing from Xavier Cooks was a huge key in the outcome.

Two outstanding performances from Jarell Martin and Xavier Cooks have helped propel the Brydens Lawyers Sydney Kings to a season-saving 79-73 victory over the Illawarra Hawks on Thursday night at the WIN Entertainment Centre in Wollongong.

Martin was spectacular in the first half in particular, holding the team together against a feisty Illawarra unit who played without star guard Tyler Harvey.

The Sydney import scored 16 of his game-high 23 points in the opening 20 minutes and was a force on the glass with eight first-half rebounds. And late in the final period, he nailed a huge triple to cap a go-ahead 12-0 run that pulled the Kings ahead after they trailed 66-61 with just under eight minutes remaining.

Cooks was dominant at times and gave the Hawks fits with his length and athleticism, with his three-point shooting a welcome addition to his already formidable skillset. He buried a pair of triples in the fourth quarter, one in particular an absolute killer at the 2:40 mark that gave Sydney a 76-70 advantage.

Shaun Bruce then stepped up with what would prove to be the dagger with a triple of his own as the clock ticked down inside two minutes, and Sydney lived to fight another day with one game remaining in the regular season.

It was a performance full of merit, and one that showed yet again just how resilient this group is. Several times it appeared that the Hawks were going to make a run that would break the Kings’ spirit, but each time it appeared the game was getting away from the purple and gold, they showed they remained up for the fight and kept their playoff hopes alive.

“I didn’t rotate in the last quarter because I was sticking with the momentum of the guys that were out there,” said Brydens Lawyers Sydney Kings Head Coach Adam Forde.

“I thought there was no reason to break that momentum, and they hung tough and got the win.”

“I’m conscious of just letting the guys sub themselves out now. When guys are rolling, like ‘X’ was today, it’s best to leave them out there and let them dictate when they want to come out.”

Coach Forde also paid tribute to Martin, whose enormous game keyed his team’s victory.

“He was aggressive on the rebounds,” Adam said.

“And he probably doesn’t get enough credit for the fact we can switch out (defensively) like when they were running an on-ball with Tim Coenraad. That’s hard to guard, and it’s reassuring to know that if Jarell is involved in that on-ball action, he can switch out to defend Justinian Jessup or Isaac White; he can do that job.”

“It just makes it easier when we’ve got a dynamic power forward like him.”

Sydney led 45-38 at the half courtesy of a late 16-2 run powered by Cooks, Martin, and five points from Casper Ware, who finished with 10 points and eight assists. But the Hawks responded in the third, outscoring the visitors 22-14 and holding them scoreless for a period of more than four minutes as their unheralded bench crew, led by Isaac White, put enormous heat on and got the typically hostile Illawarra crowd right behind them.

And when Sam Froling and Emmett Naar opened the fourth with six points between them, the question was whether the Kings still had the hunger to respond.

But respond they did. Jordan Hunter, who was tremendous all night, finished with 15 points, seven rebounds, two steals and two blocked shots and shaded Froling in the two-man battle for league Most Improved, started the comeback with a pair of free throws and a basket. Cooks nailed a corner trey, and then Martin stepped up with five big points.

Tim Coenraad stemmed the tide with a three, but that was Illawarra’s last hurrah, and the Kings went on to split the regular season series with their arch-rival – also breaking a 24-24 tie with the Hawks for all games played between Sydney and Illawarra in Wollongong and an 18-18 tie for all games played between the two teams at the WIN Entertainment Centre.

With one game left to play, the equation is simple for the Kings. A win over Brisbane on Saturday and two losses for the South East Melbourne Phoenix will give Sydney their third consecutive playoff spot.

“Obviously South East has the advantage with points percentage,” Coach Forde said.

“But the only thing we can control is how we play against Brisbane. We’re going to focus in on that and let the basketball Gods take care of the rest.”

The Kings shot the ball at 41% from the field, were 10 of 29 from three-point range and made 15 free throws from 22 attempts in their win. Sydney’s defence forced 13 Illawarra turnovers and they scored 16 points from the Hawks’ miscues.

Sydney closes out the NBL21 regular season with their final game on Saturday June 5, when the purple and gold will take on the Brisbane Bullets in a night where the team will pay tribute to the mighty Andrew Bogut. Tipoff is scheduled for 8:00pm.

Rise With Us Sydney.

BRYDENS LAWYERS SYDNEY KINGS 79 (Martin 23, Cooks 19, Ware 15)
ILLAWARRA HAWKS 73 (Naar 12, Froling 12, White 12) at WIN Entertainment Centre.

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