Kings smash Breakers during first-ever Pink Hoops fixture

The Sydney Kings roared back to form on Sunday afternoon, smashing the New Zealand Breakers 105-76 during the club's first-ever Pink Hoops double-header at Qudos Bank Arena.

The round 15 victory, played in front of an NBL24 record of 16,605, marked the franchise's biggest-ever win against the Breakers.

By the Kings landing 15 triples in the contest, they raised $3,855 for the McGrath Foundation, thanks to their sponsors sponsors Harvey Norman, Cygnett, Beyond Bank and Carma - adding to the Flames amount of $4,570 during their win against Perth.

Match summary

It was the Breakers’ Mantas Rubstavicius and Mangok Mathiang who put early points on the board, which saw New Zealand up by five, followed by Denzel Valentine and three for Jaylen Adams which put the purple and gold on the board (7-5). Quick on the rebound, Jordi Hunter made way for three from Jaylin Galloway to hand the lead over to the Kings. The lead was traded between the two, with contributions from Hunter and Valentine keeping the Kings ahead. A dunk from Toohey and five quick ones for Adams saw Sydney break into the doubles. Izayah Le’Afa and Cheatham worked to pull this lead down, with Angus Glover, Kouat Noi and Valentine quick to put it back up with the Kings up by 15 after the first (34-19).

Some ELITE buckets to start us off ?

Watch the boys now on ESPN via Kayo Sports #LetItReign pic.twitter.com/fC7eQZrKM0

— Sydney Kings (@SydneyKings) January 14, 2024

Capitalising on prior momentum, Hunter and Valentine put up five for the Kings. A driving layup from Daniel Fotu had the Breakers crawling back into the game, though seven from Valentine pulled the Kings to a 20-point lead (45-25), despite efforts from Le’Afa and Cheatham. A jump shot from Parker Jackson-Cartwright was no match for Adam’s (10-0) run as the Kings sat unbroken on the Throne. It was Galloway with a dunk who pushed the purple and gold over the 30-point margin, before Jackson-Cartwright came with three and knocked it down. A last-second jump-shot from Glover saw Sydney up by 29 at half-time (63-34).

GRAB YOUR TICKETS TO THE KINGS' HOME MATCHES NOW

A massive Adams-Galloway link-up carried the energy into the third, as Adams brought uninterrupted layups of his own to put the Kings at a substantial lead. Dane Pineau came through with a layup for the Breakers, though five from Adams ensured no dent was left. Back-to-back triples from Le’Afa brought the deficit to 32 before the Kings called time out. Le’Afa was quick to put up another two for New Zealand before Glover and Jonah Bolden created movement to cancel his efforts. Three for Glover and a jump shot from Bolden ensured Jackson-Cartwright and Anthony Lamb's contributions didn’t break their lead, allowing the Kings to enter the final quarter up by 35 (89-54).

JAYLIN GALLOWAY BRUH

Watch the boys on ESPN via Kayo Sports #LetItReign pic.twitter.com/1x0PPnkHqx

— Sydney Kings (@SydneyKings) January 14, 2024

Tom Abercrombie came into the final minutes with an early three, though jump shots from Noi and Adams followed quickly to shut the Breakers down, despite extra contributions from Cheatham. Will McDowell-White and Cameron Gliddon came with consecutive triples to bring the deficit back to 30, a layup from Valentine worked to push New Zealand out, though a further five from Gliddon and Mcdowell-White pulled the breakers back in. Fouls in the purple and gold's favour marked the final seconds. The Breakers proved breakable, as the Kings walked away up by 29, in their inaugural Pink Hoops round (105-76).

Where the match was decided 

The bounce-back win, which ended a three-game skid, was set up by statistical victories in field goal percentage (59-43), free-throw percentage (75-50), rebounds (42-28), assists (23-16), points in the paint (44-28), second-chance points (18-4), points off turnovers (22-13) and fast-break points (13-8),

Key moment 

The first-half onslaught, in which the Hoops Capital side outscored 63-34 laid the platform for their massive Pink Hoops victory.

Player of the game

Adams produced a career-high 39 points (on 14-/22 from the field including six triples) for the harbour city side on Sunday, to go along with three rebounds, three assists, one steal and one block.

Other standouts were Valentine, who scored nearly all his 23 points  in the first half, Glover (13 points including four threes) and Hunter - who's defence at the rim was exceptional.

Watch Jaylen Adams and Mahmoud Abdelfattah's post-game press conference via the 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

Mahmoud Abdelfattah's side, who are now fourth with an 11-11, now have a week off before hosting the second-placed Perth Wildcats on Sunday, January 21 at Qudos Bank Arena.

Tickets to the Pride Round fixture are still available here.