Kings lose double-overtime thriller to Phoenix

The Sydney Kings have lost an Indigenous Round double-overtime thriller to the South East Melbourne Phoenix on Sunday 113-112. 

At a full Gippsland Regional Indoor Sports Stadium, the exciting encounter, in which both sides had players sidelined through injury and fouls, was highlighted by the scoring dual between Derrick Walton Jr (45 points) and Mitch Creek (46). 

Match summary 

The fourth-placed Phoenix raced out to a 13-4 lead early on, as the Kings only hit one of their first eight field goals. Despite an impressive nine points in the first term by Phoenix centre Alan Williams, key baskets by Derrick Walton Jr helped the Kings claw back to 22-16. The hosts extended that margin further before a late Shaun Bruce lay-up made it 25-18 after one. 

Derrick doing what he does best ?

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An 8-2 start to the quarter, powered by five quick points by Jaylin Galloway, saw Sydney close to within one (27-26). The visitors’ run extended to 13-4, which saw them take the lead (31-29) following a Tim Soares’ triple. Despite playing with Xavier Cooks (who re-injured his ankle in the opening term), the Kings extended their lead to 42-35 thanks to continually pushing the ball up the floor for easy transition scores. Walton continued to be aggressive and pulled the strings offensively and his 21 first-half points (on 7/9 from the field) ensured Chase Buford’s side led 53-35 at the main break. 

Despite numerous turnovers by both sides, the two rivals traded baskets at the start of the third, as another Soares three made it 62-50. But Mitch Creek inspired the hosts to go on an 8-1 run. That momentum for Simon Mitchell’s side was short-lived as more strong play from Galloway and Noi guided the Hoops Capital side to a 75-68 lead heading into the last period. 

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With both Gary Browne and Ryan Broekhoff both exciting the game early for South East Melbourne, Mitch Creek attempted to put the side on his back, scoring six straight to open the term – which made it 75-74 with 8.48 to play. An Owen Foxell three then gave the hosts their first lead since the second quarter, as South East had all the momentum. That was halted by a Buford time-out, leading to a 9-0 run, capped by five points by Angus Glover. The see-sawing affair swung back to the hosts, as a Kyle Adnam lay-up brought the Phoenix back to 85-all with 2.53 to play. Down the stretch, crucial plays and free-throws by Walton put the Kings up by three before three clutch shots from the charity stripe by Trey Kell III equalled the ledger (94-all) and sent the round 11 fixture to overtime. 

With both Dejan Vasiljevic and Soares fouled out, the Kings struggled to score in the extra period but thankfully their defence kept them in it. At the death, just like at the end of regulation, the Kings had a chance to win it but couldn’t convert, as it finished at 102-all and sent the fixture into double-overtime.  

In the second extra period, big plays by Creek (who finished with 46 points and 10 rebounds) helped sealed the Phoenix’s 113-112 win. 

Where the match was decided 

In arguably the game of the NBL23 season to date, both side's statistics were extremely close across the board, except rebounds (54-47), assists (18-15), points in the paint (54-40) and second-chance points (20-7) which were won by South East Melbourne. 

Key moment 

The scoring dual between Walton and Creek was as good as there’s been in the NBL for a long time, with the pair trading big basket after big basket – on their way to 45 and 46 points respectively. 

Player of the game 

In the absence of Cooks, US point guard Walton stepped up in a big way for the Kings, tallying a season-high 45 points to go along with 10 assists and four rebounds. 

The 45 points mark the equal-fifth-highest score by a King in an NBL fixture, while the Michigan Wolverines alum also became the second Sydney player ever to record a 40-point, 10-assist game - following in the footsteps of Shane Heal (who achieved 40 points and 12 dimes against Cairns in 2001-02).

Others to score in double-figures for the harbour city side were Noi (12), Soares (12) and Vasiljevic (10). 

What’s next 

The harbour city side, who fall to second with an 11-5 record following the defeat, now return home to prepare for their historic Christmas night clash with Melbourne United at Qudos Bank Arena – which tips off at 6.30pm AEDT. 

Tickets are still available for the round 12 fixture here.