Kings with demolition job on Hawks

The Sydney Kings finished the first half on an 11-2 run and then dominated the third quarter with Andrew Carr collecting 20 rebounds and Kendric Davis having 23 points and 14 assists in an emphatic 108-82 win over the Illawarra Hawks.

The Hawks were fresh off a win on the road to Melbourne United and back home at the WIN Entertainment Centre trying to build some momentum against the reigning champs.

It was the first away game of the season for the Kings even though they did play New Zealand in Canberra, and they managed to grab the momentum heading into half-time with an 11-2 run to be leading 48-36.

Sydney then had 34 points to 16 in the third quarter while shooting 12/18 from the field and 8/9 from the stripe to be up 30 by three quarter-time, then by as much as 33 and winning by 26 to improve to 5-2.

Carr set a new Sydney record for rebounds off the bench collecting 20 boards for the game including four at the offensive end along with 16 points in just 24 minutes.

Davis might have only shot 10/22 from the field and 1/7 from the outside, but had 23 points and 14 assists with Torrey Craig adding 22 points, six rebounds and three steals.

Makuach Maluach also had 13 points on 2/3 three-point shooting, Xavier Cooks 12 points, six boards and three assists, and Jayden Stone 10 points.

The Hawks are now 2-7 on the season with Makur Maker once again a shining light having made his first start alongside Sam Froling. He finished with 24 points, seven rebounds and three assists.

Tyler Harvey had 15 points in the first quarter but just 17 by the end of the game with Davo Hickey adding nine points, four assists and three rebounds.

But Froling (one point, six rebounds, 0/3 shooting), Milton Doyle (four points, three assists, 1/5), and Kelan Martin (two points, 1/10) all had tough outings.

It was the first instalment for NBL27 of the NSW rivalry and it was a tight battle through the first quarter with the Kings leading narrowly 20-19 by the end of it.

That was with Kendric Davis having six points on 3/9 shooting while up the other end Tyler Harvey had 15 of those 19 points for Illawarra after only averaging 11.1 so far in NBL27.

It remained tight through most of the second quarter too until the Kings closed the half out with an 11-2 run including a third three-pointer already to Torrey Craig who was up to 15 points.

That saw Sydney go into half-time leading 48-36 with Davis already having a double double with 10 points and 10 assists while the Kings were shooting 20/41 from the field opposed to the 13/41 from the Hawks.

Harvey didn’t add to his 15 points but Makur Maker had nine by the break for the home team.

It was then a total domination by the Kings in the third quarter and they piled on 34 points on the back of shooting 12/18 from the field and going 8/9 at the free-throw line.

That saw Davis add another nine points and two assists while by three quarter-time Makuach Maluach was up to 13 points and Andrew Carr had already pulled down 18 rebounds to go with scoring nine points.

The Hawks managed just 16 points in the quarter and that saw the Kings well in control leading 82-52 by the end of three.

Illawarra did manage 30 points in the last quarter but it mattered little with Sydney adding 26 themselves including a late alley-oop from Tyler Robertson to Jayden Stone to secure the eventual 26-point win.

Both teams back up again this weekend to play with the Hawks remaining at home to host the Brisbane Bullets on Saturday while the Kings head to Melbourne to play United on Sunday.

ILLAWARRA HAWKS 82 – SYDNEY KINGS 108

Illawarra Hawks
Makur Maker – 24 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists
Tyler Harvey – 17 points, 3/7 3PT
Davo Hickey – 9 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds
Todd Blanchfield – 8 points, 6 rebounds
Wani Swaka Lo Buluk – 5 points, 2 rebounds

Sydney Kings
Kendric Davis – 23 points, 14 assists, 2 steals
Torrey Craig – 22 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals
Andrew Carr – 16 points, 20 rebounds
Makuach Maluach – 13 points, 2 rebounds, 2 blocks
Xavier Cooks – 12 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists