Moller steps up in Kings win over the Bullets

Written by Matt McQuade for Kings Media 

Result: Brydens Lawyers Sydney Kings 90 Brisbane Bullets 71

Stats That Matter: Kings 40 bench points; Kings 42 points in the paint; Kings 16 offensive rebounds; Kings 27 assists

Kings MVP: Craig Moller’s sensational fourth quarter launched him to a career night.

Turning Point: A 9-0 run to start the third quarter gave the Kings a lead they would not relinquish.

The game was over when: Craig Moller splashed his third triple of the final quarter with ninety seconds remaining.

Trending in the right direction: Sydney’s bench was outstanding and a huge key to the victory.

The Brydens Lawyers Sydney Kings have delivered a powerful second half performance to overpower the Brisbane Bullets on their way to an excellent 90-71 victory on Saturday night at Qudos Bank Arena.

Sydney outscored Brisbane 50-29 in the final twenty minutes after trailing 42-40 at the end of what was a first half grind, but came out much more focused at the start of the third quarter, opening the period on a 9-0 run to take a lead they wouldn’t lose the rest of the way.

The Kings were somewhat lethargic in the first half, understandable after a tough Thursday night in Perth and a late arrival Friday in Sydney, but the team responded after a halftime blast from Head Coach Adam Forde, and were energised and committed to a man right from the beginning of the second stanza.

“I talk about deposits and withdrawals, and Perth was a massive withdrawal,” Coach Forde said.

“Just the way of the physicality in how we wanted to play that game, and then the flight and the time difference. I was fully anticipating a lethargic first half.”

“It took us a while to get going, and once we did, with a spark from certain individuals, we rode that momentum and came out with a pretty good result.”

Brisbane made a run midway through the third quarter and held the Kings scoreless for nearly four minutes, but Tom Vodanovich (seven points) nailed a big triple, and when Brad Newley went coast to coast for a floater at the buzzer, the Kings led 61-53 on the back of a 21-11 period.

But the fourth quarter belonged to Craig Moller and Dejan Vasiljevic.

After Matt Hodgson opened the scoring for Brisbane with a bucket, Vasiljevic (13 points, five rebounds) nailed back-to-back triples to blow the margin out to double figures with nine minutes remaining, and Sydney started to put the hammer down on a tiring Bullets outfit.

And then Moller went to another level.

Sydney’s versatile reserve forward, who has been in superb form over the last couple of months, took the game over with a spectacular performance, hitting 15 of his career-high 20 points in the final frame.

Craig did it all, grabbing offensive rebounds for scores, playing tough defence and breaking up Brisbane scoring opportunities, and he closed the show with three triples in the final four minutes to continue his rise as a solid perimeter shooter for the purple and gold.

“I think it’s day after day and just putting the reps in,” Craig said of his improved outside shooting.

“Will (Weaver) gave me all the confidence last year to keep shooting and Fordey is the same.”

“I’ve always had the confidence to shoot it. It’s been slowly building through the season and it culminated in that tonight.”

Moller also spoke about his increased comfort level over the last few games, a level that has helped him raise his play considerably at both ends of the floor and given the Kings real punch off the bench.

“I think that comes with a bit of experience and a bit of age,” he said.

“Even today, I didn’t play in the third quarter at all and when I was younger, I might have been second-guessing myself.”

“But knowing that we’ve got a strong bench, it’s just a rotational thing so I came in and did what I did in the last quarter.”

Sydney drew a crowd of 5,439 on a day when the Sydney Royal Easter Show is in full swing in the Qudos Bank Arena precinct, and Coach Forde paid tribute to a group of fans who helped drive his team to a much-needed W after a pair of losses.

“This was a great crowd tonight,” Coach Forde said.

“All the roads are blocked off in Olympic Park and it’s hard to get in here at the moment.”

“It was really cool when the crowd was pushing the boys. There was one where you could sense the roof was about to lift off when we got a steal, we ran the ball down the other end and Didi (Louzada) got a great look at a transition three.”

“The crowd was right in everything, and I feel like we’ve got the best fans in the league. They’re really smart and they know their basketball.”

“It was great seeing them out in force. They love seeing team basketball. Jarell’s grabbing rebounds and they’re loving it. Craig is hitting threes and they’re loving it. That energy feeds into our bench and feeds into our team, and I wanted to acknowledge that.”

Indeed, Sydney’s bench, keyed by Moller, was a huge key to the victory, with the reserves combining for 40 points. Sydney also dominated in the paint, holding a 42-18 advantage against a bigger Brisbane unit, and 27 assists on 35 made field goals spoke to their unselfishness and offensive execution, especially in the second half.

The Kings shot the ball at 43% from the field, were 10 of 30 from three-point range and went 10 of 14 from the free throw line. Sydney won the rebound count 49-47 and forced the Bullets into 13 turnovers while only committing four themselves.

Moller added five rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots to his game-high 20 points, well-supported by Jarell Martin, who was a game-time decision yet soldiered manfully for 16 points and ten rebounds, while Casper Ware added 11 points and nine assists for a Sydney unit that jumps to fifth place with a 10-10 record.

Round 13 sees the Kings playing twice at home. On Thursday 8 April at 7:30pm AEST, Sydney takes on Perth at Qudos Bank Arena and returns to their home stadium on Sunday 11 April at 3:00pm AEST to play South East Melbourne Phoenix. Tickets for both games are on sale now via Ticketek.

Rise With Us Sydney.

SYDNEY KINGS 90 (Moller 20, Martin 16, Vasiljevic 13)
BRISBANE BULLETS 71 (Sobey 31, Cadee 11, Jones 8, Harrison 8) at Qudos Bank Arena.

BOXSCORE