Physical Breakers edge Kings to force game five

The NBL23 Championship Series is headed to game five, after the New Zealand Breakers defeated the Sydney Kings 80-70 at Spark Arena on Sunday. 

This means the reigning champions will host the all-important game five at Qudos Bank Arena on Wednesday night from 7.30pm AEDT. 

Match summary 

The only score through the only two minutes was a Will McDowell-White triple, before the Kings’ drought was ended by Justin Simon (following an Izayah le'afa lay-up) – making it 5-2. Derrick Walton Jr then started to weave his magic with the ball, including a tough fadeaway before finding Angus Glover for a three-pointer. The hosts then rattled off seven straight before Xavier Cooks and Jaylin Galloway added two free-throws each for Sydney, as well as one by Dejan Vasiljevic, to help make it 18-12 at quarter-time to New Zealand. 

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The low scoring continued in the second, with both sides only registering one basket each through the first 2.08 on the term. Two consecutive scores by Justin Simon, followed by another jumper by Walton Jr kept the Hoops Capital side in it until Will McDowell-White sparked a 7-0 run for the hosts. That run (all part of a 21-12 half for Mody Moar’s men) combined with Cooks picking up three first-half fouls, saw New Zealand lead 39-27 at half-time. That represents the second-lowest scoring half by Sydney under Chase Buford, with the worst being 21 against Melbourne in December 2021. 

The Kings tried to push the pace more in the third, creating easier scores behind their resolute defence – allowing them to close to within seven following a Walton Jr triple off a Tim Soares dime. Contributions by bench players Glover, Kouat Noi and Galloway reduced the margin even further – with back-to-back triples by the former making it 50-49. The two sides traded baskets as the time ticked down, with the Breakers holding a two-point (54-52) lead at the final change – thanks to a 25-15 term. 

Two early baskets by Jordi Hunter kept a one-possession game despite two huge threes by McDowell-White. Another tough score by Noi was quickly cancelled out by a Barry Brown Jr two, which was all part of a 7-0 run that put the host up 71-60 with 3.49 to play. The harbour city side didn’t go away though, with two baskets by Walton Jr and a shot from downtown closing it to 74-67 with just under two to play. That was as close as the purple and gold got though, with the Breakers winning the match by 10 points - with the 70 points by Sydney being their lowest-ever score in a Grand Final fixture (with the previous lowest being 72 against West Sydney in 2004).

Where the match was decided 

The game four win by the Breakers was set up by categorial wins in two-point field-goal percentage (57-47), steals (8-2) and turnovers (8-15) - with the Kings also attempting their fewest shots from the charity stripe (14) all campaign.

Key moment  

A season-low 21 points in the first half cruelled the Kings and proved too much a deficit to overcome in the second half in Auckland. 

Player of the game 

In the defeat, Walton Jr did all he could with a team-high 18 points, four rebounds, three assists and one steal. 

The other standout for the Kings was wing Glover, who hit a career-high equalling four triples, for 12 points, three boards, two dimes and two steals. 

What’s next 

It all comes down to Wednesday’s game five at Qudos Bank Arena, with the series all locked up at 2-all. 

For all your information about how to get tickets to game five, please visit here.