Kings young-guns lead the way in win over the Breakers

Written by Matt McQuade for Kings Media 

Result: Brydens Lawyers Sydney Kings 96 New Zealand Breakers 78

Stats That Matter:Kings 50% FG; Kings 21/26 FT (80%); Rebound count Kings 46 Breakers 36; Kings 60 points in the paint

Kings MVP:Jordan Hunter had a career night and was a powerhouse in the post.

Turning Point:Sydney overcame a slow start to overwhelm New Zealand in the second quarter.

The game was over when:Dejan Vasiljevic had a steal followed by a breakaway lay-up to make it a 21-point Kings’ lead with just under seven minutes remaining.

Trending in the right direction:Sydney’s work on the glass was much improved on recent efforts.

The Brydens Lawyers Sydney Kings have overcome a slow start to dominate the New Zealand Breakers in the second quarter enroute to a 96-78 blowout victory in their third game of the NBL Cup on Thursday night at John Cain Arena in Melbourne.

Sydney got the win in Shaun Bruce’s 200^th game in the National Basketball League, and controlled the action for most of the final three periods, earning six points of a possible seven in the NBL Cup format.

The Kings shot the ball at 50% from the field, outrebounded New Zealand 44-34 and had a whopping 60 points in the paint to earn a W that brings the team back to .500 on the NBL21 season proper with a 5-5 record.

Down 30-20 at the end of the first period, the Kings rode a spectacular performance from second-year big man Jordan Hunter (career-high 24 points, four rebounds) to crush the Breakers in a devastating second quarter effort, outscoring New Zealand 26-6 in the frame.

The six points from the Breakers represented the fewest points scored by a team in any quarter this season, and it was in stark contrast to the opening ten minutes, when New Zealand did as they pleased offensively against some poor Kings’ defence.

But after receiving a blast from Head Coach Adam Forde in the quarter-time break, Sydney’s effort noticeably went to another level, as they dropped into an early zone that took the Breakers out of their rhythm. From there, the Kings began to control the glass, got multiple stops, forced several turnovers and punished their opponents for their consistent miscues.

“Again, it’s about us recognising that we’ve got to get it done at the defensive end,” Coach Forde said.

“Against Perth we gave up 113 points which we don’t want to give up to any team, so for the most part defensively where other aspects of our game plan probably weren’t as clean as we wanted them to be, we can always come back to get stops.”

“We’re showing moments of brilliance in that aspect of trying to kill the momentum of the opposition. We’re generating points in doing so, in a manner which we’ve been preparing for since day one.”

Hunter had 18 points on a perfect seven of seven from the field in the first half and did as he pleased in a low post domination of New Zealand import big Colton Iverson (eight points, six rebounds), forcing three fouls from his direct matchup by the 6:41 mark of the second quarter.

New Zealand were held scoreless for nearly four minutes as the Kings took over, with five points from Craig Moller (11 points, six rebounds, three assists) keying an opening 12-0 run in the second stanza that tied the game at 30.

The Breakers fought back briefly, but Dejan Vasiljevic (20 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals) started to heat up and Sydney began to put the hammer down, running off another 12 straight points to establish an eight-point lead.

Hunter closed out the scoring with back-to-back baskets, and the Kings led 46-36 at intermission.

Remarkably, Sydney held a double-digit advantage at the half despite getting only three points from leading scorer Casper Ware (19 points, five assists, four rebounds) – but the Kings’ floor general was just about to explode.

He found Hunter with a beautiful feed for a two-hand alley-oop jam early in the third quarter and then started to find his groove offensively, scoring six points in the frame to help offset nine points from New Zealand’s Corey Webster (24 points) and some sloppy offensive execution from the Kings as they turned for home leading 68-55.

“That’s probably the thing we kept talking about the most – we come out of a break or a timeout and the (offensive execution) was pretty good but then it tapers off,” Coach Forde said.

“There was a point in the third quarter where we were up by 18, and then it was 13 by the end of the quarter.”

“I was subbing a lot of guys in and out, but everyone’s accountable for the shot selection. It’s one of those things that we keep reminding ourselves on – you don’t want to be playing hero ball, but if anyone starts to get momentum, then great, we’ll find you in the offence. We’re still working on that.”

If New Zealand still held a little bit of hope as the fourth quarter got underway, it was quickly dispelled by Ware and Vasiljevic, who combined for 11 points as part of an opening 11-3 run that for all intents and purposes put the game away.

The gun Sydney pair kept the scoreboard ticking over before Moller stepped up with seven late points to close what was an impressive individual performance from the Kings’ backup forward.

“He stepped up off the bench for us,” Coach Forde stated.

“His plus-minus was I think the highest for us. You always take that stat with a grain of salt, but he showed it out there.”

“He was boxing out, getting rebounds, moving the ball, setting screens, rolling hard and made the extra pass so someone else got a shot.”

The Kings were never really troubled in the second half to earn what was in the end a convincing victory, highlighted by Jordan Hunter’s perfect nine for nine shooting performance and Dejan Vasiljevic’s first career double-double.

Sydney’s next game in the NBL Cup is a blockbuster clash against Melbourne United on Saturday night at John Cain Arena. Tipoff is at 8:00pm and the game will be broadcast on ESPN, SBS On Demand and NBL.TV.

Rise With Us Sydney.

BRYDENS LAWYERS SYDNEY KINGS 96 (Hunter 24, Vasiljevic 20, Ware 19)
NEW ZEALAND BREAKERS 78 (C. Webster 24, T. Webster 18, Abercrombie 9) at John Cain Arena, Melbourne.

BOXSCORE