Oliver guides Kings to gritty win over Taipans

The Sydney Kings returned to the winner’s circle on Friday night, thanks to a gutsy 81-75 Heritage Round win over the Cairns Taipans at the Cairns Convention Centre. 

Match summary 

Jaylen Adams opened the match’s scoring with a jumper before the hosts rattled off seven straight. Scores by Adams, Cam Oliver, in his first game back in Cairns, and Xavier Cooks settled proceedings for the visitors. Oliver was doing it for Sydney on both ends, scoring eight straight himself, including two alley-oops, to give Sydney the lead (15-13). An 11-0 run, powered by Taran Armstrong and Rob Edwards, gave the Snakes back the lead. A floater as timed expired by former King Jackson Makoi saw the hosts lead by six after one. 

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A steal and lay-up by Bul Kuol and free-throws by Adams closed the margin before shots at the charity stripe by Oliver tied it up at 29-all. But offensive boards began to hurt Brian Goorjian’s side, as the Snakes moved out to a six-point lead. The harbour city side returned fire with a 9-0 run, led by Kouat Noi, to get their noses back in front. Armstrong and Oliver exchanged triples, as Cairns led 42-41 at the main break. 

A shot from downtown by Adams, fadeaway by Oliver and lay-in by Kuol sparked the Kings to start the second half on an 8-0 run. That, combined with an improved effort on defense forced Cairns into four early turnovers and gave the Kings a seven-point lead. Poor free-throw shooting by the Kings allowed Cairns to stay in touch despite Alex Toohey doing all he could for Sydney. A feisty end to the term, highlighted by a run-in between Izayah Le’afa and Edwards, saw the Kings hold a four-point lead going into the final change. 

Adams found Oliver with a powerful oop early in the fourth before a tough hoop and harm by Cooks put Sydney up by four. A timely triple by Kuol slowed the Snakes’ momentum, as the scoring dried up for both outfits. While neither team could score from the field, Oliver, Adams and Cooks converted shots from the stripe. An Armstrong triple closed the margin to three before Adams nailed a clutch jumper. The latter iced the win with numerous late free-throws, seeing the visitors hold on by six. 

Where the match was decided 

Despite losing the offensive rebound count 23-10 (and overall board count 55-41), the Kings secured the win thanks to superior field goal percentage (42-26), assists (19-7), blocks (8-3), points in the paint (34-24) and fast break points (13-6). 

Key moment 

In a scrappy game, a strong start to the third by the Kings, where they went on an 8-0 run, laid the platform for the gritty win. 

Player of the game 

In his first game back in Cairns, Oliver was the star for the Kings, to the tune of 26 points (10/16 from the field), nine rebounds, three blocks and two dimes. 

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King #250 was well-supported by his fellow import Adams, who added 22 points, seven boards, six assists and one steal. 

Watch Brian Goorjian'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 

Goorjian’s team, who are now 8-6, now have a quick turnaround and head to Melbourne to face United from 2.30pm on Sunday, December 1 – broadcast live on Channel 10 and ESPN. 

The Hoops Capital side’s next home game is on Sunday, December 15 against Brisbane from 4.15pm AEDT at Qudos Bank Arena. 

Tickets to that game are still available here.