Kings storm back to defeat Breakers

A 25-15 final term has secured the Sydney Kings their third straight win on Friday night, defeating the New Zealand Breakers 92-84 at Spark Arena. 

Match summary 

NBL Next Star Alex Toohey scored the Kings’ first nine points, to give the visitors an early lead. Cam Oliver was the first Kings not named Toohey to score, by hitting a fadeaway jumper. Parker Jadckson-Cartwright then took over for the hosts, as New Zealand led 16-11. That grew to 19-11 before Oliver ended the drought. A late bucket by Kouat Noi closed the margin to just four at the first change. 

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Noi’s triple made it 19-18 soon after the resumption, which was followed by scores by Xavier Cooks, Adams and Keli Leaupepe. A tough and-one by bench spark-plug Noi made it 34-31 midway through the term before Makuach Maluach left his own mark on the game with a crafty jumper. Adams then helped Noi and Oliver score on back-to-back possessions. The latter was on fire, helping tie the game at 42-all after a shot from downtown. Despite the 17 first-half points, a triple as time expired by Jackson-Cartwright gave the hosts a 51-44 lead at the main break. 

IF YOU DON’T NOI, NOW YOU NOI 🤫

King #237 @KouatN with 17 first-half points against the Breakers!

Keep watching our game with New Zealand live on ESPN.#TakeTheThrone pic.twitter.com/QiB93qboCB

— Sydney Kings (@SydneyKings) December 20, 2024

Scores by Toohey and Cooks were cancelled out by efforts by Matt Mooney and Jackson-Cartwright through the early parts of the period. Once again Noi, as well as Tyler Robertson, made an instant impact off the bench, as the margin closed to one (58-58). A pair of free-throws by Cooks put the Hoops Capital side back in front. The two teams then traded buckets, with Adams’ driving and-one lay-up being followed up by an Oliver-to-Robertson connection. Another Adams floater and more free-throws ensued but a three by Max Darling in the final seconds gave the hosts a 69-67 lead at three-quarter-time. 

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The Breakers opened the term on a 7-1 run, as their lead grew to eight, but Noi ended that with a drive of his own. Four quick points by Toohey reduced the harbour city side’s deficit to just two. Scores by Noi, Toohey and Adams followed, before the former nailed a three, to give them an 84-83 lead with 1.38 to play. NBL22 MVP Adams hit a pair of clutch jumpers, combined with gutsy defensive plays late secured the Kings the eight-point win. 

Where the match was decided 

Sydney’s win was set up by statistical victories in assists (22-15), steals (7-2), points in the paint (52-48) and bench points (39-13) - while forcing more turnovers (11-5). 

Key moment 

A huge fourth quarter, where the Kings produced a 16-point turnaround (trailing by eight points before coming back to win by that amount) secured the Hoops Capital side their 11th win of NBL25. 

Players of the game 

Noi was sensational, scoring a game-high 26 points, combined with four rebounds, one assist, one steal and one block - once again highlighting why he is one of the top candidates for this season's Sixth Man of the Year award.

Other standouts were Toohey (21 points and 11 boards), Adams (17 points, nine dimes and eight rebounds) and Cooks (12 points, six rebounds and six assists). 

What’s next 

Goorjian’s team, who are now 11-7, now return home to play on Wednesday, December 25 against Freeway Series rivals Illawarra for their annual Christmas night clash. 

Tickets to the Qudos Bank Arena fixture, tipping off at 8.15pm AEDT, are still available here.