Kings lose low-scoring affair to Taipans

The Sydney Kings dropped their second consecutive game on Saturday night, losing 87-80 to the Cairns Taipans at the Cairns Convention Centre. 

Unfortunately, the result means Angus Glover didn’t get to celebrate his 100th NBL game with a victory. 

Match summary 

Kouat Noi (starting for the injured Jaylin Galloway) scored the Kings’ first four points – including two within the first four seconds. Cairns rattled off the next 10 points (including five from Bul Kuol) before Jaylen Adams ended the visitors’ drought. Strong defence by Jordi Hunter and the injection of debutant DJ Hogg and Jonah Bolden off the bench kept the Hoops Capital side in the round five contest. This was short-lived as the host led 22-12 with just under two minutes to play. Thanks for a 12-5 rebounding count to Cairns in the first term (and the Kings going 0/9 from downtown), the Snakes led 26-20 at the first change. 

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The harbour city side fell behind by more (11) at the start of the second, as their shooting woes continued but Noi wasn’t having that by scoring a quick-fire five. But that momentum was short-lived, as the Kings failed to land any of their first 15 triples – seeing their shooting percentage drop to the low 30s as the term ticked down. Bolden finally landed a shot from downtown, which helped Mahmoud Abdelfattah’s side close to within nine (51-42) at the main change. 

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Sydney scored the first seven of the third behind Noi and Denzel Valentine, powering them back to a scoreline of 54-52 – forcing Adam Forde to call a time-out following an Adams’ triple. Solid contributions by Shaun Bruce and Hogg off the bench steered the Kings to their first lead since the opening term (61-60). The hosts responded with the final nine points of the period, to lead 69-61 at the final change. 

The hosts made it 15 straight after scoring the first six in the final term – highlighted by a huge Bobi Klintman jam. Bruce broke the Kings’ scoring drought, which started a 7-0 run for the visitors. Tough baskets by Adams and Hogg made it a two-possession game with four minutes to play. Down the stretch, the Kings had chances to close the gap and even hit the front but key missed shots and turnovers hindered any chance of that – as Cairns won by seven points. 

Where the match was decided 

Cairns’ victory over Sydney was set up by statistical wins in field goal percentage (38-34), free-throw percentage (78-73), rebounds (53-49), assists (16-11), points off turnovers (25-17) and fastbreak points (13-2). 

Key moment 

Following a triple by Hogg to give the Kings the 61-60 lead, Cairns scored 15 straight at end of the third and start of the fourth – a run which proved too much to overcome on the night. 

Player of the game 

In his first start of NBL24 and playing against his former team, Noi top scored for the purple and gold with 18 points, to go along with three rebounds and two steals. 

Other to score in double figures for Sydney were Adams and Hogg (both 13 points) and Bolden (11). 

Watch DJ Hogg and Mahmoud Abdelfattah's post-game press conference in Cairns via Sydney Kings' YouTube channel above. While you're there, be sure to hit subscribe, to ensure you never miss out on any of our great videos.

What’s next 

Abdelfattah’s side, who are now 4-3, now head to the WIN Entertainment Centre on Friday, November 3 to face the Illawarra Hawks from 7.30pm AEDT – which will be broadcast on ESPN via Kayo Sports. 

The Kings' next home game is on Sunday, November 5 from 3.45pm AEDT against New Zealand – which will not only mark a grand final replay from last season but also represent the club’s annual Indigenous Round.