Sydney rout Melbourne to break NBL road wins record

The Sydney Kings etched their names into the record books on Sunday, by smashing arch-rivals Melbourne United 91-71 at John Cain Arena. 

The round two victory saw the Kings chalk up their 14th straight road victory, one more than long-time record-holders Canberra (1984-85) - made even more impressive by the fact United had won 11 of the past 12 contests at Melbourne’s home court. 

Match summary 

After a slow start, in which the two sides combined for eight points (6-2 to Kings), both teams found their range from downtown, including three by Dejan Vasiljevic and two to Xavier Rathan-Mayes – seeing Sydney go into quarter-time up 27-16. 

The start of the second quarter belonged to Xavier Cooks, who produced a poster dunk on Isaac Humphries and two triples, to spark a 10-0 run for the Kings – stretching the lead to 20 midway through period two. That run extended to 16 straight before a Chris Goulding three-pointer ended United’s drought with 5.01 to play in term two. That did not slow the demolition, as Sydney won the quarter 30-6, to lead by 34 (57-23) at half-time. 

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Scoring was more balanced by the two sides in the third, as Walton got his hands more on the ball and created plenty of open looks for his Kings teammates. Despite this, Dan Vickerman’s side closed the margin to 74-48 at three-quarter-time by winning the terms by eight. 

Vasiljevic and Cooks kept the scoreboard ticking over for the Kings in the fourth, as United continued to close the margin in the final stages – with Sydney running out comprehensive winners by 20 and maintain their perfect championships defence record. 

Where the match was decided  

The Kings’ strong shooting from the field (46 per cent) and downtown (52 per cent) was complimented by their resolute defence, which held United to just 29 per cent on the day. 

Sydney also dominated the statistical categories of rebounds (51-43), assists (19-12) and points in the paint (36-24) - which were all instrumental in the 20-point triumph. 

Key moment 

The second quarter by Cooks was nothing short of explosive. From a poster dunk on Humphries to three triples (for a total of 13 points for the term) and numerous exceptional defensive plays (including keeping Rajon Tucker scoreless through the first 20 minutes), the power forward’s play sparked the Kings to a game-winning 30-6 quarter. 

Player of the game  

Building on his two solid performances to open NBL23, last year’s grand final MVP Cooks produced his best performance of this season on Sunday – contributing all over the floor to the tune of 23 points (9/15 from the field), nine rebounds, three triples, two assists, one steal and one block.  

What’s next 

Chase Buford’s Hoops Capital side, who are now 3-0 on the season, will return to Qudos Bank Arena on Friday, where they will host fellow unbeaten side Cairns (2-0) on Friday night from 7.30pm AEDT.