A dominant performance from Josh Boone has powered Melbourne United to a 95-69 blowout victory over the Sydney Kings on Monday night at Hisense Arena.

Boone ripped down 10 rebounds in the first half and finished with an impressive 17 point, 17 rebound double-double to lead United to a comfortable win after the Kings stayed competitive with the home team in the first quarter.

But with Boone controlling the paint and both Chris Goulding (23 points, six rebounds, three assists) and Casey Prather (21 points, four rebounds) taking turns in blasting away from long distance, an injury and illness-wracked Sydney couldn’t keep up with the Melbourne offensive juggernaut, who beat the visitors for the second time in 2017/2018.

Jerome Randle took to the floor suffering a bad case of the flu and lacked his usual spark while Perry Ellis manfully pushed through a shoulder injury that has limited him for the past couple of games, but he wasn’t his normal effective self, despite finishing with 16 points.

Regardless, it was the same old story for the purple and gold. Lacklustre defensive containment, poor execution offensively and not enough focus on slowing down Melbourne’s formidable transition game cost them time and again.

“The result was disappointing and I don’t think we played well,” Head Coach Andrew Gaze said afterwards.

“Some of our problems were self-inflicted and (Melbourne) beat us in a variety of categories.”

“Sometimes our defence was solid without being great, and sometimes it was poor.”

“Offensively, very little was coming from our structure. We’ve need to find a way to get better shots through our structure in order to help our defence.”

“We’ve got to get better in a whole lot of areas.”

The Kings trailed 49-34 at half time despite the best efforts of Ellis and Jeremy Tyler, who combined for 18 points in the first ten minutes after Brad Newley’s eight first quarter points kept the Kings in range early.

But with Melbourne getting whatever they wanted to offensively and Sydney collectively struggling to put the ball in the hole; United inexorably ground down the Kings, who lost their sixth consecutive game on the road to fall to 3-12 on the season and must now regroup with some crucial games to come at Qudos Bank Arena.

Despite the team’s current predicament, Newley was defiant in the post-game media conference.

“As far as I’m concerned, Wednesday will be the first time we’ve had a full list at training,” he said.

“We’ve got 13 games to go, and we’ve just got to leave it all out there.”

“The big thing is we keep believing in Andrew’s philosophies and I believe we can only get better.”

“As of Wednesday, we get back Kevin Lisch and Todd Blanchfield, we come back out on Sunday, and we’ll give it our best shot for the rest of the year.”

Coach Gaze echoed his player’s comments.

“I enjoy the fight,” he stated.

“I enjoy the battle. I enjoy trying to figure out a way to get out of this.”

“As long as my (backside) points to the ground, I won’t be quitting.”

MELBOURNE UNITED 95 (Goulding 23, Prather 21, Boone 17) def. SYDNEY KINGS 69 (Newley 18, Ellis 16, Tyler 13) at Hisense Arena.

Source: Matt McQuade (SydneyKings.com.au)

He has been hot and cold all season, but Perth dynamo Bryce Cotton torched the Illawarra Hawks for a season-high 36 points in Sunday's 99-91 victory in Wollongong.

Cotton, who blasted the Hawks for 45 to clinch last year's grand final series, was back to his blistering best, connecting on 7/11 threes.

The Cats also received a strong contribution off the bench from Derek Cooke Jr (19 points, seven rebounds), while JP Tokoto finished with 13 points after having just two at half-time.

Acrobatic Illawarra import Demitrius Conger returned with a bang after a one-game suspension, pouring in a team-high 30.

But the reigning champions absorbed the Hawks' best punches for three quarters before pulling away down the stretch and joining New Zealand at the top of the ladder with a 10-3 record.

The Hawks slipped to 5-8 but will be comforted by the fact their next six games are in Wollongong.

Kevin White moved back into the starting five to cover the absence of injured guard Mitch Norton and helped the Hawks jump out to a 13-8 lead.

But Cotton signalled his intentions by nailing his first four shots, as the 'Cats peeled off a 12-2 run.

Illawarra coach Rob Beveridge held his breath when AJ Ogilvy went down injured after six minutes. The three-time All-NBL centre headed to the locker room before returning to the court in the second period and finishing the game with 10 points and eight rebounds.

Luckily for the Hawks, Conger was cooking from the get-go, racking up nine points and three boards in the first quarter.

Cotton nailed a pair of free throws in the closing seconds to give the visitors a 25-24 quarter-time lead.

Illawarra gave Cotton less room to operate in the second period, allowing him to add just four to his tally.

Conger upped his total to 14 by half-time and Clarke had 10, which included a long-distance bomb and a dazzling reverse layup.

The 'Cats were slapped with two technicals in the first half and Tokoto was uncharacteristically cold, missing seven of eight shots and racking up three fouls and three turnovers.

But Perth got timely help from the bench with Cooke Jr's 10 points and four rebounds, taking a 46-44 lead into the main break.

Cotton kept the 'Cats in front with a couple of early threes in the third period, though it didn't stop coach Trevor Gleeson using a timeout after one too many defensive lapses.

He got the response he was after, as Perth knuckled down at both ends to pull ahead 71-64 at three-quarter time.

They kept the Hawks at bay down the stretch to stay on track for the minor premiership.

​PERTH WILDCATS 99 (Cotton 36, Cooke Jr 19, Tokoto 13)
ILLAWARRA HAWKS 91 (Conger 30, Clarke 12, Kay 11

The playoff hopes for the Sydney Kings remain on a knife edge after the team dropped a Saturday night thriller at home to the Brisbane Bullets, going down 85-77 at Qudos Bank Arena.


In a game that featured a remarkable 47 lead changes and 15 ties, both teams showed desperation and commitment before the Kings were let down by another fourth quarter fadeout.


Simply put, Brisbane made the big plays at the right time down the stretch and Sydney’s inability to get stops when they needed them doomed the purple and gold to a loss that leaves them needing 12 wins in their last 14 games to have any chance of seeing postseason action in 2017/2018.


The team’s lack of execution in crunch time has been an issue over the past few weeks and an emotional Head Coach Andrew Gaze admitted afterwards it was costing his team dearly.


“I think it’s symbolic of the last four or five games,” he said afterwards.


“Even the one we won against Cairns we had to eke out.”


“We’re deteriorating down the stretch and maybe some of that’s my fault for not providing greater rotations, but the game was in the balance the whole way through.”


“In that fourth quarter, we had breakdowns defensively that we hadn’t seen earlier in the game.”


Sydney went toe to toe with the Bullets for most of the night and led 41-40 at the half thanks to 10 points apiece from Jerome Randle and Brad Newley.


And Jeremy Tyler dropped 10 of his game-high 23 points in a dominant third quarter display that gave hope to a potential Kings victory.


But behind a sensational performance from Brisbane import point guard Travis Trice (19 points, six assists, four rebounds, three steals), the Bullets ripped the momentum away from the home team in a key stretch late in the third quarter that gave them a 63-60 lead heading into the final period.


Brisbane kept extending the margin with Trice orchestrating the offence superbly and the Kings failing to take advantage of several opportunities to score, and when Newley fouled out and the Brisbane import point guard buried a three with less than two minutes left, the Kings just couldn’t find a way back and now face an enormous challenge just to get back to the .500 mark this season.


“It’s about the intangibles,” Coach Gaze said.


“It’s how we conduct ourselves, our body language, the way we support each other.”


“We’ve got to figure out a way to put something in place to fix it so ultimately that the players can enjoy the experience and the camaraderie – all those things are important in getting the result, but they’re hard to fix.”


“We’ve got a lot of issues to deal with, and the bulk of them fall on my shoulders. I accept that, and we’ve got to do better.”


Jerome Randle disagreed with his coach’s assessment, specifically the fact that he was taking all of the blame for Sydney’s disappointing record at this stage of the season.


“I’ve never seen a coach blame himself for everything that’s happened,” he said.


“I say that we are well-prepared for these games that we’ve lost.”


“He can’t take the blame for everything because the players have to go out there and play.”


“On the whole I think we get lazy, and we shouldn’t, and I think he’s doing a wonderful job and all the blame shouldn’t be directed at him.”


“He’s holding us accountable, and he’s doing a hell of a job.”


“As a point guard, I feel like I should lead the team a lot better. I’m hard on myself, the same as coach and it’s frustrating to me because I’m such a competitor and I want to win games. It’s my job as a leader to figure out a way to win basketball games.”


“It’s never over till it’s over, and we are going to continue to fight.”


Sydney has just a day of recovery before heading south to continue that fight as they do battle with Melbourne United at Hisense Arena on Monday.


BRISBANE BULLETS 85 (Trice 19, Buford 12, Kickert 11, Te Rangi 11) def. SYDNEY KINGS 77 (Tyler 23, Randle 22, Newley 12) at Qudos Bank Arena.

Author: Matt McQuade

Source: SydneyKings.com.au

A brilliant first half has propelled the Sydney Kings to a gutsy 81-72 win over the Cairns Taipans on Thursday night at Qudos Bank Arena.

Executing as well as they have all season at both ends of the floor, the Kings restricted the Taipans to just 32 points in the opening twenty minutes and looked set to come away with a massive victory after leading by 19 at intermission.

But injuries to Todd Blanchfield (concussion) and Perry Ellis (shoulder) meant the Kings were forced to go deep into their bench to survive a furious comeback by the Taipans, who got back into the game in the third period thanks to Alex Loughton’s 11 points and a couple of timely baskets from Cameron Gliddon.

Down by as much as 24 points at one stage, Cairns cut the lead down to six points in the fourth quarter, but Jerome Randle (16 points, six rebounds, four assists) and Brad Newley (eight points, four assists) hit clutch shots to keep the Taipans at bay.

“When they got six down, Jerome hit a massive shot and we went from six to nine,” Andrew Gaze said afterwards.

“In the context of the game, it was a massive play that he made.”

“And Brad Newley, for all the troubles he was having and couldn’t throw it in the ocean, hit a massive shot.”

“We were able to get it done in the second half because we were able to make some big offensive plays, but that was through their skill and the way in which they played rather than our structure. We’ve got to do a better job putting them in a position where they can score a little easier.”

In the end, it wasn’t pretty, but it was a much-needed win that snapped the team’s five game losing streak and provides some light at the end of the tunnel for what has been a beleaguered unit in the opening couple of months.

“We understand the road ahead of us and the challenge we face,” Andrew Gaze said.

“It’s a difficult one, but it’s one we’re trying to get the guys to embrace and welcome the obstacles that are presented in front of us.”

“I think tonight we did a good job of that.”

But as Andrew also noted, the win came at a cost.

Blanchfield had a nasty head clash with Isaac Humphries in the second quarter that saw him knocked out and prone on the Qudos Bank Arena floor for several minutes and Ellis suffered a knock to his shoulder in the first quarter that he tried valiantly to battle through, but couldn’t take any further part in the game from midway through the third quarter.

Both have been ruled out of the return clash with the Taipans on Saturday night in Cairns.

“Todd is in a bad way,” Coach Gaze said.

“Perry is in a bad way too. He had a shoulder issue, and he tried to push through it, to his credit.”

“He wanted to try it, but he couldn’t go, and we were running the risk of doing more damage.”

With all the hits the Kings have taken this season, injuries to two starters might have sent them over the edge. But Andrew Gaze – whose Melbourne Tigers started the 1997 season with a 3-9 record but went on to win the NBL championship – remains defiant.

“As I said to the guys, you gotta believe. You gotta have that belief and that’s half the thing.”

“No one believes except for what’s in our locker room.”

“I might be a masochist or something, but all these different challenges you face make the journey tougher, but they make the reward better.”


SYDNEY KINGS 81 (Cadee 16, Randle 16, Tyler 15) def. CAIRNS TAIPANS 72 (Gliddon 20, Loughton 19, Egwu 11) at Qudos Bank Arena.

​Source: Matt McQuade (SydneyKings.com.au)

Listen to the highlights of the Hawks incredible comeback (or was it more the Kings incredible fadeout) as called by Matt McQuade and Troy Pilon on SWR NBL.

On a day where the two NBL title favourites suffered shock losses, the Illawarra Hawks have broken through for their first win of the 2017/18 NBL season with a 105-96 win over the Brisbane Bullets at the WIN Entertainment Centre in Wollongong.

After Melbourne United lost at home to the New Zealand Breakers immediately prior and the Perth Wildcats being shocked by Cairns immediately after the Hawks came from behind to open their season account and keep in touch with the top sides in the NBL.

The Hawks started the game with an 11-5 run much to the delight of the electric home fans in Wollongong, they were soon silenced however as the Bullets went on a 17-2 march to lead by 15 at quarter time on the back of shooting 12/17 from the field.

The second quarter saw the Hawks cut the lead down to one before the Bullets shot away again to take a ten point lead into half time and put the Hawks season in serious trouble.

However the Hawks began to grab a toehold in the third. Rotnei Clarke was the standout for the Hawks coming into the starting place for Kevin White who was a late scratching due to illness, he was in the thick of the action with 26 points for the home side in what became at times a spiteful encounter.
Midway through the third quarter Hawks forward Nick Kay was fouled hard by Bullets guard Adam Gibson which in turn instigated a melee as both sides converged on the scene and started to square up to one another

Following a lengthy review by the officials, four players -- two from each side -- were hit with unsportsmanlike fouls, while Rotnei Clarke wore a technical foul.

From that point the Hawks were the better side finishing the third term with a flourish to complete a 39-16 quarter to lead by 13 at the final change. Despite the Bullets cutting the lead to 5 late on in the piece the Hawks held their nerve to record an important victory.

ILLAWARRA HAWKS 105 (Clarke 26, Conger 21, Ogilvy 15)
BRISBANE BULLETS 96 (Buford 26, Kickert 21, Holt 17)
At WIN Entertainment Centre

Catch all the action of the Illawarra Hawks vs the Sydney Kings live from Wollongong Sunday afternoon from 2:30pm on SWR Sport.

The Sydney Kings have gotten their first win of the season with a 103-87 win over the Illawarra Hawks at Qudos Bank Arena on Sunday
Import Perry Ellis led the way with 33 points in the victory which was soured by a torn calf to captain Kevin Lisch who is expected to miss 8 weeks of action


​Relive the highlights of our call on SWR Sport with Julian Daw, Ben Knight and Matt McQuade