NZ Breakers' struggles continue in Sydney
- NZ Sports Wire
- Oct 5
- 3 min read
The Sydney Kings have opened their Australian National Basketball League (ANBL) account with a dominant 22-point victory against the NZ Breakers.
The Kings notched their first victory of the ANBL season and kept the Breakers winless, with Kendric Davis delivering 28 points in a 97-75 thumping at Sydney's Qudos Bank Arena on Saturday night.
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Both teams were winless heading into the matchup and each of them were struggling to find much of a groove in the opening half.
The Kings were still leading by seven points at quarter-time and then by five at the half, but the game was on the line coming into the third quarter where the home team took charge.
Sydney's offence got rolling in the third quarter, piling on 31 points while holding the Breakers to 18 before, then another 27 points in the fourth period on the way to the statement 22-point victory.
The win improves the Kings to 1-1 on the season on the back of 51 percent shooting from the field, with 19 assists to just seven turnovers. The Breakers shot just 41 percent, including going 6-of-32 from behind the three-point arc as they slip to 0-4.
Superstar signing and last season's MVP runner-up Davis took 27 shots for his 21 points last week in his Kings debut, but was much more efficient this time around, with 28 points and four assists on 11-of-17 shooting.
Tim Soares also hit a couple of threes on his way to 16 points, eight rebounds, two assists and two blocks, with Jaylin Galloway adding 11 points, Kouat Noi 10 points and Shaun Bruce chiming in with six points and four rebounds in his 350th ANBL appearance.
Former NBA player Matthew Dellavedova might not have scored, but still had a significant say in the result with seven assists and six rebounds.
Parker Jackson-Cartwright (16 points, five rebounds, five assists), Rob Baker II (15 points, four boards, two steals) and Sam Mennenga (14 points, 12 rebounds, three assists, two steals) battled hard for the Breakers.
They did not have enough support, though, and the struggles of import Izaiah Brockington, the Ray Borner Medallist at the ANBL Blitz, with eight points on 3-of-7 shooting remains a concern for head coach Petteri Koponen.
After a flat start, Sydney eventually got moving through Davis, whose 10 first-quarter points steered the hosts to a 22-15 lead at the opening change.
The Breakers' offence continued to be clunky, settling for outside shots which went largely unrewarded.
After trimming the gap to 39-34 at half-time, the visitors were blown away in the third term as Davis and Kouat Noi prospered down the stretch to open up an unassailable 70-52 cushion at three quarter-time.
Mennenga's vicious dunk over Soares was a rare highlight for the Breakers in the fourth term, which Davis and the rejuvenated Kings continued to dominate.
The Breakers play the first of three straight home games when they host the also-winless Illawarra Hawks at Auckland's Spark Arena on Wednesday (tip-off 7.30pm NZT), while the Kings remain at home for a third straight game against the undefeated Melbourne United later that night.
Sydney Kings 97 (Kendric Davis 28, Tim Soares 16, Jaylin Galloway 11, Kouat Noi 10) NZ Breakers 75 (Parker Jackson-Cartwright 16, Rob Baker II 15, Sam Mennenga 14, Karim Lopez 10, Reuben Te Rangi 10). 1Q: 22-15, HT: 39-24, 3Q: 70-42
