Kings thump Wildcats for fourth straight home win

The Sydney Kings made it four straight wins at Qudos Bank Arena on Saturday night, by smashing Perth 108-87 in front of 11,073 fans. 

It also marked their fourth straight home win by double figures, which the club hasn't achieved since the 2007/08 season - thanks largely to averaging 107.2 points per game over their past five contests.

The Kings’ 15th win of the NBL23 campaign solidified their spot on top of the ladder, with just four rounds remaining until finals. 

Match summary 

Despite the strong play of Xavier Cooks on both ends of the floor, the Wildcats led in the early parts of the contest 9-6, thanks to Tai Webster. But Sydney’s bench mob of Kouat Noi, Angus Glover, Shaun Bruce and Jaylin Galloway sparked a 10-0 run for Chase Buford’s side – who led 19-11 with just over two to play. A triple by Cooks and a full-court connection between Bruce and Noi extended that run to 15 unanswered points for the Hoops Capital side, forcing John Rillie to call a time-out. That didn’t change the visitor’s fortunes, as Sydney led 27-14 after one. 

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The purple and gold onslaught continued in the second, as the hosts registered the first seven points – stretching their lead to 20. A relentless attack on the rim by Noi get the scoreboard ticking over for the harbour city outfit as Tai and Corey Webster did what they could for the Cats to try and close the margin. But solid defence and free-flowing offence, highlighted by a post dunk by Tim Soares and 18 first-half points by Cooks, helped Sydney lead 59-41 at the main break. 

That margin quickly closed to 11 though, as Brady Manek rattled off eight quick points for the Wildcats. The two foes then traded baskets, with Derrick Walton Jr and Soares leading the way for the Kings. The story of the period was the Kings’ ability to convert their free-throws, nailing 10-13 shots from the charity stripe for the period – as Sydney led 82-67 after three. 

Another Dejan Vasiljevic triple capped an 8-6 run to open the fourth for Sydney, as the margin grew to 17. Once again, bench stars Noi and Glover (who had eight points for the term) made impacts when they hit the hardwood, as Walton continued his wizardry with the ball. The big win was capped by a windmill jam by Cooks, as Sydney ran out round 14 winners by 21 points. 

Where the match was decided 

Once again, the Kings’ hot shooting from the field (57 per cent compared to 40 of the Wildcats) sealed the home win. Sydney also dominated the statistical categories of rebounds (47-37), assists (24-17), blocks (5-1), free-throws (75 per cent 54 while shooting 32 attempts to just 14), points in the paint (50-42) and most tellingly, 44-8 in terms of bench scoring. 

Key moment 

A huge 15-0 run towards the end of the first quarter laid the platform for Buford’s side to once again score more the 100 points and chalk up the 15th win of their title defence – as Perth never reduced the margin to within double digits after that. 

Player of the game 

MVP front-runner Cooks again led the way for the reigning champions, tallying 24 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, three blocks and one steal. 

The NBL22 Finals MVP was well-supported by Walton Jr (16 points), Glover (13), Noi (12) and Soares (10) in the triumph. 

What’s next 

The harbour city side, who are now 15-5, will temporarily end their summer home stand with a quick trip to take on Brisbane on Wednesday night at Nissan Arena. 

Buford’s team will then return to Qudos Bank Arena on Sunday, January 15 to play the fourth and final Adrian Hurley Cup clash of NBL23 against Illawarra. 

The all-NSW encounter, which will act as game two of the Hoops Capital double-header where the Flames also take on Townsville, tips off at 4pm AEDT, with tickets still available here