Kings record 500th win and first for NBL21

Written by Matt McQuade for Kings Media 

Result: Sydney Kings 99 Cairns Taipans 91

Stats that matter: Kings 47% FG; Kings 23 offensive rebounds, rebound count Kings 49 Taipans 37; Kings 12/13 FT (92%)

Kings MVP: Import Jarrell Martin was magnificent up front for the purple and gold.

Turning Point: With the Taipans owning all the momentum at the end of the third quarter, the Kings scored four points in the first 90 seconds of the fourth to hold Cairns at bay.

The game was over when: Casper Ware drained two clutch free throws with 23 seconds left to seal the deal.

Trending in the right direction: Dejan Vasiljevic got the start and knocked down some huge baskets in the second half.

Behind a spectacular second half performance from floor general Casper Ware, the Brydens Lawyers Sydney Kings have stunned the hometown Cairns Taipans with a gutsy 99-91 victory on Saturday night at Cairns Pop-Up Arena.

Ware scored 20 of his equal team-high 22 points in the final two quarters to help an injury-ravaged Kings record one of the most determined, courageous wins in recent memory.

“He’s the ultimate professional,” Sydney Kings Head Coach Adam Forde said of Casper afterwards.

“He only had two field goal attempts in the first half, but to take over the way he did, to step up the way he did – that’s just a testament to how he is as a professional.”

“Last week everyone was criticising him, this week they’ll be riding his (jock) about it. He doesn’t ride that emotional rollercoaster; he’s going to be consistent, he’s going to be Casper Ware, and next week he’ll deliver a Casper Ware performance against Brisbane and then Adelaide.”

“We’re just going to continue to look to him for that leadership and confidence.”

It was Coach Forde’s first victory as an NBL Head Coach and the team’s 500^th in franchise history, and it was a win built on tremendous heart and character, as an undermanned unit that went into the game minus Didi Louzada and Daniel Kickert suffered a further hit when young Angus Glover suffered a knee injury late in the second quarter and he took no further part in the game.

But against the odds, the Kings survived a furious onslaught from the home team as they closed the third quarter on a 15-2 run to trail by just one with ten minutes to go. However, the Taipans never led down the stretch as a heroic Sydney outfit kept making plays to keep them at arm’s length.

“In a nutshell, it’s great to be around this group right now,” said an elated Coach Forde.

“Being on the road as long as we have, we’re wearing that as a badge of honour.”

“The collective spirit in this team – I mean we’re still in the infancy stage with this. The most exciting thing for me in my first year as head coach is that I’ve got a whole lot of guys who want to be coached and they want to play hard for each other.”

Incredibly, Sydney led the entire game from the 4:34 mark of the first quarter onwards and took a 23-22 lead after one period, thanks to a turn back the clock performance from Brad Newley (17 points, five rebounds) who had nine points in the frame, and six points and seven rebounds from Jarell Martin (22 points, 11 rebounds, three assists) who began a memorable individual duel with Cairns big man Cameron Oliver (27 points, 10 rebounds, three blocked shots, two steals).

Newley maintained his output with a pair of buckets to open the second quarter, a period that the Kings dominated for large stretches thanks to Martin, who had eight points and showcased his elite offensive skills.

Sydney got out to an 11-point lead midway through the quarter before the Taipans responded, but Martin had a pair of buckets before Shaun Bruce (seven points, four assists) nailed an audacious, one-legged heave from the corner at the buzzer to give the visitors a 46-37 advantage at the main break.

The third period was Casper Ware time. Held to just two points in the opening half, Sydney’s dynamic point guard buried his first of what would become three straight triples at the seven-minute mark in his compelling battle with Taipan floor leader Scott Machado (14 points, nine assists).

Ware’s explosion seemed to energise the purple and gold, and they kept building their lead with Jordan Hunter (eight points, six rebounds) again playing quality minutes.

But a four-point play from Kouat Noi (13 points, five rebounds) kickstarted a Taipan resurgence, and the home team closed with that 15-2 rush as the Kings led 72-71 with a quarter remaining.

And what a quarter it was, featuring tremendous plays on both sides.

Hunter opened the scoring with a two-hand jam and Ware buried his fourth three of the night before Oliver skied for a devastating poster jam over Craig Moller. Mirko Djeric (10 points) then knocked down a triple to make it a one-point game with six minutes left.

Still, the purple and gold refused to yield. Hunter came back with a deuce before the Kings’ outstanding rookie Dejan Vasiljevic (13 points) nailed a three-point basket to give his team some breathing room.

Importantly for the Kings, Machado fouled out at the five-minute mark and Ware took full advantage, attacking the rack for a basket and foul with just over a minute left after Vasiljevic answered two Taipan scores with a 30-foot bomb for three.

Ware missed the free throw, but Moller came out with the biggest offensive rebound of the night and fed Martin for a power dunk to give the Kings a 93-86 lead.

Djeric responded with an impossible triple to give his team some late hope, but it was Cairns’ last hurrah. Ware had a dribble drive for a score followed by a pair of game-sealing free throws with 23 seconds left, and Newley’s two at the charity stripe with ten seconds left were the icing on the cake.

Sydney now moves to 1-1 in the early stages of NBL21; Cairns falls to 1-2 after suffering consecutive home losses.

But for the Kings, this was a win for the ages. Heart. Determination. Character. Commitment. The purple and gold had all that in spades tonight.

However, things won’t get any easier. The Kings now face a quick turnaround, as they tip off Round Three of NBL21 with a game on Tuesday against the Brisbane Bullets at Nissan Arena in Brisbane, before taking on the Adelaide 36ers at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre next Saturday night.

Rise With Us Sydney.

SYDNEY KINGS 99 (Ware 22, Martin 22, Newley 17)
CAIRNS TAIPANS 91 (Oliver 27, Machado 14, Noi 13) at Cairns Pop-Up Arena

BOXSCORE