BOXSCORE

Adam Gibson awoke the Gold Coast Blaze from a first-half slumber to steamroll the Sydney Kings 84-72 in Sydney on Friday night.

After an indifferent first-half display, where the Blaze were in foul trouble and trailed by six points at the break, Gibson (17 points, 9 assists) exploded with 15 points and three assists in the third quarter.

Mark Worthington (12 points, 7 rebounds) sat out most of the second quarter due to foul trouble, but returned in the second half to wreak havoc, draining three-pointers at one end and blocking Kings shots at the other.

Smooth-dribbling Blaze guard Adris Deleon (a game-high 29 points) was a constant menace, his outside shooting and control of the offence a struggle for Sydney to contain.

When Deleon and Worthington again hit from three-point range the Blaze led by 14 with just under two minutes left and the contest was over.

Despite being in such a promising position for most of the first half the Kings were unable to maintain that momentum for the entire game.

Jerai Grant, chief tormentor the last time these two sides met, had a tough night at the office offensively, while star centre Julian Khazzouh’s influence was fleeting, unfortunately for the strong Kingdome crowd.

Rising star Anatoly Bose (21 points) tried in vain to bring the home side back into contention, while Khazzouh (16 points, 9 rebounds) and Ben Madgen (14 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists) provided the best support.

Gold Coast Blaze 84 (Adris Deleon 29, Adam Gibson 17, Mark Worthington 12)
Sydney Kings 72 (Anatoly Bose 21, Julian Khazzouh 16, Ben Madgen 14)

Crowd: 5863 at Sydney Entertainment Centre.