After a couple of disappointing losses at the Kingdome, the Sydney Kings finally gave their loyal fans some long awaited cheer on Saturday night with a fighting 102-96 win over the Gold Coast Blaze.
It was a win vital to keep the playoff hopes of the purple and gold alive for another week, as they moved just one win out of .500 at 8-9 on the season, and behind a brilliant performance from backup guard Luke Cooper and the supreme athleticism and tremendous work ethic of Jerai Grant, the team recorded consecutive wins for just the second time in the 2011/12 campaign.
Cooper’s numbers were not all that eye-opening with 10 points and six assists, but it was what he brought to the game in terms of great intensity and unflagging energy that sparked the team from the second quarter onwards and made his contribution vitally important.
“I wasn’t happy with the level of intensity in the first quarter, but Luke Cooper came in and changed everything,” a happy and relieved Sydney head coach Ian ‘Moose’ Robilliard said afterwards.
“He’s just a pest at training,” he laughed. “That was probably the best game he ever played, and he’s been working very hard, and all credit to him, he’s done very well.”
Jerai Grant also admitted his confidence was improving every week.
“Honestly I saw in the first quarter the Blaze were doubling Jules and I was able to get a few dunks early on,” he said.
“I felt like I should start to assert myself, and I thought that the coaching staff did a great job in letting us know what kind of defence Gold Coast were going to play.”
Grant led all scorers with 23 points on an ultra-efficient 10 of 14 from the field, adding 12 rebounds and four assists for good measure. He was well supported by Aaron Bruce, who came alive in the second half to finish with 21 points, while Julian Khazzouh had by his lofty standards a quiet 14 points and 11 rebounds although he did come on strong in the fourth quarter.
Mark Worthington had 18 points and 10 rebounds but also committed six turnovers for the Blaze, who fell to 6-7 on the season. Adam Gibson finished with 15 points and four assists, import Adris Deleon played just 19 minutes due to foul trouble but still contributed 14 points, while Will Hudson and Jason Cadee both produced 11 points for the visitors.
With neither team renowned for their defence it was inevitable we were going to see plenty of scoring early and within 90 seconds a three point play from James Harvey offset a trey from Anatoly Bose to give the Blaze a 7-4 advantage.
With the Kings failing to get stops again and turning the ball over in the halfcourt, Gold Coast soon took control, and a three pointer to Worthington followed by a layup to Deleon – who was giving Bruce all kinds of problems early – the visitors had scored ten in a row and led 12-4 with less than four minutes gone in the opening period.
The trend continued for the next few minutes, but the bench picked up the intensity with Kevin Ratzsch and Cooper prominent, and with two minutes left in the quarter Sydney had cut the margin to a manageable five, 23-18.
Cooper had a big trey in the corner to close out his outstanding effort in the period, and after an entertaining opening ten minutes the Blaze led 27-24.
Anthony Petrie opened the second with a long distance three, but Grant showcased his incredible athleticism with a monstrous two hand slam as he was fouled, converting the three point play, and when Cooper again splashed one from long range, the Kings were well and truly back in it down just two, 32-30, with less than two minutes gone.
The confidence level of the home team had definitely gone up a notch thanks mainly to the effort of Cooper, who found Bruce with a great pass for the deuce to give the Kings just their second lead of the ballgame, 34-32.
Another dunk by Grant and a jumper from Bruce followed by a flying layup from Grant and the Kings were all of a sudden up 40-36, looking good at home for the first time in weeks.
Cooper and Grant were driving the purple and gold on, playing with the kind of energy and intensity that had been lacking in the group, and with the defence finally getting some stops, Sydney led 46-43 with over two minutes remaining till intermission.
Grant was playing like a man possessed at both ends of the floor, jamming another one home and hitting a jumper from the baseline, and despite the Blaze’s Chris Goulding knocking down consecutive three pointers and Jason Cadee tossing in a desperation prayer at the buzzer, Grant’s 12 points in the period and the team’s 65% shooting from the field in the quarter helped the purple and gold to a 57-55 lead at the half.
Adam Gibson had been quiet in the first half, but launched a pair of three point bombs that found nothing but the bottom of the net in the opening two minutes of the third quarter, helping the Blaze to regain the lead, 62-59.
Cooper and Ben Madgen responded with baskets, but Gold Coast were starting to ask the tough questions defensively, and an 8-2 run keyed by Worthington extended the margin to seven, 72-65, midway through the period.
Grant’s third foul forced him to the bench and things began to look threatening for the home team, so it wasn’t a surprise that Coach Robilliard rolled the dice and got him back out there as quickly as possible. He repaid the faith with a pair of free throws followed by a great pass inside to Khazzouh for the deuce, and when Bruce nailed a big trey and Cooper found Grant for the acrobatic alley oop layup, the crowd was on their feet and the Kings had powered to a three point lead.
The Blaze were completely shut down and looked panicked in the final two minutes as Sydney closed the period on a 13-2 run, and the home team held sway 78-75 with ten minutes remaining.
Both teams attacked mercilessly as we got the third period underway, with Worthington going hard to the bucket for a deuce, but Bruce knocked down two huge treys to give the Kings an 87-81 lead with three minutes gone.
The Blaze cut the lead quickly to two, capitalising on some Kings’ mistakes, but Cooper sprinted down the floor and found Grant for the bucket to extend the margin to four.
However, Wortho, having a tremendous offensive game, tied it at 89 midway through the quarter with a pair of spectacular baskets, and one wondered whether the purple and gold would wilt under the pressure as they had at home in recent weeks.
But Grant and Khazzouh stood up for their team once again and had scores inside to the roars of the crowd, and with just over two minutes left the team was on the cusp of an important victory, leading 96-90 as Blaze coach Joey Wright called for time to try and get his players across the line.
Madgen brought the fans to their feet with a drive to the basket for two, and when Deleon was called for an offensive foul, his fifth for the game, thanks to outstanding defence from that man Cooper, Sydney led 98-92 and had the ball with one minute left.
Cooper ran the clock down but missed the floater, but Harvey missed a three pointer and with thirty seconds remaining Bose nailed two free throws off the ensuing foul to make it a 100-92 game and all but salt away the much-needed win.
Cooper was subbed out to an enormous ovation after his best ever game in the National Basketball League, and although Harvey hit a three pointer with nine seconds left, it was too little too late as Aaron Bruce closed it out from the free throw line and the fans stood as one to acknowledge a Sydney victory at the Kingdome that had been a long time coming.
With just 11 games remaining the team will likely need to go 8-3 at a minimum to challenge for the postseason, and they have a very tough hill to climb with an extremely difficult schedule ahead. Every win is precious given Sydney will face the Perth Wildcats and Townsville Crocodiles twice and the defending champion Breakers on the road, all within the next six weeks.
But that was for another time – this was a night to be celebrated.
