Ware leads the way in big road win over 36ers

Written by Matt McQuade for Kings Media 

Result: Sydney Kings 94 Adelaide 36ers 75

Stats that matter: Kings 46% FG (31/67); Kings 14 three pointers; Kings 19 assists; Kings 8 turnovers

Kings MVP: Casper Ware dominated the Adelaide backcourt and was devastating from the perimeter.

Turning Point: Sydney responded to an Adelaide second quarter run with one of their own and were never threatened in the second half.

The game was over when: Ware put the game to bed with a three-point basket midway through the final period.

Trending in the right direction: Craig Moller came off the bench and gave the team key minutes.

A stellar defensive effort has propelled the Brydens Lawyers Sydney Kings to a brilliant 94-75 victory over the Adelaide 36ers on Saturday night at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre.

Coming into the game as warm favourites riding a three-game winning streak, the 36ers were dismantled by the Kings’ swarming defence and managed just 51 points through the opening three quarters, before some late baskets gave the score line a little respectability.

Remarkably, it was the second largest margin of victory ever by Sydney over the 36ers in Adelaide and their biggest win in the City of Churches since a 23-point victory in October 2011.

“Following on from the Brisbane game, we talked about effort, and in this game, we put some direction into it,” said Head Coach Adam Forde.

“We changed up a lot of our schemes…we had to make some adjustments. It’s been a long week for everybody, so to come out with the level of intensity we did tonight is just a testament to their character.”

“That’s the first game that we’ve won all four quarters. Maintaining that consistency coming out of timeouts, having a particular game plan in mind and sticking to it even when other teams get on a run is something we’ve really been highlighting.”

“There’s a lot to like about what the guys did today and now it’s just a matter of us continuing on with that form heading back to Sydney.”

The team’s outstanding defence set up their explosive offence, keyed by Casper Ware (27 points, three rebounds, two assists, two steals), who hit six triples, four of those in a blistering second half performance; and Jarell Martin (23 points, four rebounds), who fought back from a tough start to dominate the vaunted Adelaide frontline of Isaac Humphries (four points, eight rebounds, four blocked shots) and Daniel Johnson (21 points, six rebounds), neither of whom was a factor at any stage.

But another huge key to the victory was that everyone on the Sydney roster contributed. From Shaun Bruce and his team-high seven assists (five in the first quarter), to Dejan Vasiljevic (15 points, four rebounds, five assists) and his all-court production, Craig Moller (nine points) and his performance off the bench and the rebounding of Jordan Hunter (11 boards), the entire squad stepped up magnificently.

“That’s how good our team is,” Casper Ware said.

“We can get contributions from everyone, one through ten.”

“Hats off to our organisation for getting guys like that who can contribute right away and hats off to ‘Fordey’ and the coaching staff for putting the guys in the right positions, it’s been great.”

Despite another arduous week on the road for Sydney, right from the start there was a level of energy clearly evident throughout the squad, even when they found themselves down early to the home team.

But Adelaide’s advantage didn’t last long with Martin’s 11 first quarter points staking the visitors to a 21-18 advantage.

Ware was the man to start the second, exploding with a pair of triples, and when Tom Vodanovich (five points) nailed a three and Brad Newley (nine points, six rebounds) attacked for the deuce, the Kings had outscored the 36ers 18-3 over a six-minute period to lead 34-21.

With Next Star Josh Giddey (11 points, six rebounds, four assists) leading the way, Adelaide finally kicked into gear with a 15-2 run to tie the game, and with the 7,317 fans in attendance finding their voice, the Sixers had all the momentum.

But not so fast.

Moller had a huge three-point play to stop the Adelaide run, and it galvanised Sydney, as they closed the half in style with a 12-3 sprint and led 48-39 at intermission.

At that point, Sydney’s defence was in lockdown mode. Adelaide couldn’t get anything going against the Kings’ constant switching and physicality, and the home team was getting comprehensively outworked by a drastically undermanned opposition.

In the third period, Sydney’s D went to another level. Stymied at almost every turn, Adelaide became visibility frustrated with their inability to penetrate Sydney’s defensive wall, and the 36er home crowd grew more and more restless the longer the game went on.

And while the offence dried up for both teams, the Kings kept edging ahead, pushing their lead out to as much as 19 points with less than two minutes left in the quarter before five late points from 36ers bench guard Alex Mudronja (11 points) gave Adelaide some hope as they trailed 65-51 with a quarter remaining.

But that hope was quickly misplaced, as a confident Ware knocked down three long range bombs in the first five minutes of the final period to turn the game into a blowout with the lead growing to as much as 20 points at one stage.

From there, the result was a mere formality, with Coach Forde able to get everyone on the bench some playing time, and a final three from Martin was the icing on the cake with Sydney producing their best win of the young NBL21 season.

Now, finally, the team returns to the Harbour City after months on the road, and Casper Ware, for one, couldn’t be happier.

“Words can’t describe it right now,” he said.

“It’s just going to be great to get back home and play in front of our crowd.”

“The energy is unmatched in that arena when you walk in there and I can’t wait for guys like DJ, who haven’t felt that energy yet, to feel that.”

What a performance from the Kings. One to be very proud of. And Sydney Kings fans, the Kings are coming home! The purple and gold return to Qudos Bank Arena for a blockbuster home double-header in Round Five. First up next Friday night, the Kings will take on the New Zealand Breakers, before a must-watch battle with Brian Goorjian and his Hawks the following Sunday afternoon. Tickets are on sale NOW via Ticketek.

Rise With Us Sydney.

SYDNEY KINGS 94 (Ware 27, Martin 23, Vasiljevic 15)
ADELAIDE 36ERS 75 (Johnson 21, Dech 13, Giddey 11, Mudronja 11) at Adelaide Entertainment Centre.

BOXSCORE