Kings rule over Phoenix

Written by Matt McQuade for Kings Media 

Result: Brydens Lawyers Sydney Kings 101 South East Melbourne Phoenix 81

Stats That Matter: Kings 53% FG; Rebound count Kings 47 Phoenix 30; Kings 56 points in the paint; Kings 22/29 FT (75%).

Kings MVP: Jordan Hunter. Another dominant performance from Sydney’s big man.

Turning Point: An 11-2 run midway through the third quarter put the Kings well in command.

The game was over when: Craig Moller scored at the end of the third period to make it a 24-point ballgame.

Trending in the right direction: Sydney’s depth was on show tonight, with all 11 players getting on the scoresheet.

A devastating third quarter has propelled the Brydens Lawyers Sydney Kings to a sensational 101-81 victory over the South East Melbourne Phoenix on Thursday night at John Cain Arena in Melbourne.

The Kings outscored the Phoenix 35-14 in a remarkable 10-minute onslaught, after leading by just three in a somewhat sloppy first half where they committed 11 turnovers and had problems defending Mitch Creek, who had 17 of his game-high 29 points in the opening two periods.

But Sydney’s relentless pressure on the rim took its toll right from the beginning of the second stanza, with the Kings forcing the Phoenix into early foul trouble and then capitalising offensively, with big men Jordan Hunter, Craig Moller and Jarell Martin taking turns pounding the South East Melbourne frontline.

Sydney led 73-49 at the end of the third period, and although Phoenix guard Cameron Gliddon (16 points) got hot in the fourth, the game was well out of hand by then, allowing Head Coach Adam Forde to get some burn for development players Archie Woodhill and Lochlan Hutchison, who both had a couple of late highlight-reel plays.

First, Hutchison hit a deep triple, but the icing on the cake was a hook-up between Hutchison and Woodhill for the two-hand alley-oop slam that had the Sydney bench dancing in delight.

“They’re great young players and we love having them around,” Hunter said later of the development duo.

“They train hard and they show up with a willingness to get better. So, to give them a bit of burn today and to see how they seize that opportunity is really exciting.”

“They’ve got a bit of growing to come as well so that’s also exciting.”

Remarkably, all 11 Kings scored on the night and the team finished with 17 assists, constantly moving the ball and looking for the open man in a pleasing sign.

Hunter was a dominant figure, finishing with 19 points, ten rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots, and capped his night with a hellacious alley-oop jam off a beautiful feed courtesy of Shaun Bruce.

Casper Ware was a study in controlled aggression, making life difficult for his Phoenix counterparts Kyle Adnam and Izayah Le’Afa with his constant attack on the rim. He finished with an equal team-high 19 points and added five rebounds and five assists.

And there were many other contributors on a great night for the Sydney Kings.

Martin played only 12 minutes as the team manages his ongoing knee soreness, but his quickness and size proved too much for the home team and he tallied 11 points and nine rebounds off the bench. Craig Moller continued his great form with 11 points and eight boards and both Shaun Bruce and Brad Newley had eight points apiece for a Kings’ team that shot the ball at 53% from the field, had a whopping 56 points in the paint and destroyed the Phoenix on the glass, winning the rebound count 47-30.

Still, Coach Forde was far from happy after the impressive victory, wanting to focus more on the mistakes his squad made.

“We had 18 turnovers, and here’s the thing, we have to be perfect,” he said.

“We’re down dudes, but’s that’s no excuse because the guys we’ve got are very capable.”

“We’ve got guys who’ve represented Australia at the Olympics. We’ve got guys who have played top-tier D1 basketball. We’ve got guys who’ve played in the NBA. We’ve got the players.”

“Maybe in that third quarter we just did a better job, but it was still a bit sloppy in terms of our execution.”

“We have a real intent on trying to get to the rim. That’s what we want to do, and we did it. I’ve never seen it so high when we had 48 two-point attempts.”

“We want teams to defend us, and maybe we did a better job of that in the third.”

Sydney’s third straight win vaults them past the Phoenix into third place on the National Basketball League ladder.

The Kings now have just 48 hours to recover before their next encounter, as they close Round 15 with a classic intrastate battle. On Saturday 24 April, the team travels down the Princes Motorway to take on arch rivals the Illawarra Hawks in what shapes up as a blockbuster, with tipoff scheduled for 8:00pm.

Rise With Us Sydney.

SYDNEY KINGS 101 (Hunter 19, Ware 19, Moller 11, Martin 11)
SOUTH EAST MELBOURNE PHOENIX 81 (Creek 29, Gliddon 16, Adnam 13) at John Cain Arena, Melbourne.

BOXSCORE