Bolden finds touch, Kings take down Bullets

Jonah Bolden's basketball comeback has gathered pace as Sydney ran through a Brisbane team missing Aron Baynes for an 11-point NBL road win.

The sides traded shots in a wide-open first quarter before the two-time defending champions clamped down on Friday night in enemy territory, Jaylen Adams (26 points, three rebounds, three assists) stamping his class to pilot the 113-102 assault.

Former Philadelphia and Phoenix forward Bolden was instrumental in the Kings' dominant second term, when they swelled their lead from four to 14 points to dampen the mood of a lively Nissan Arena full house.

The lead swelled to as many as 22 points before Brisbane pegged it back in the final minutes, a Bolden (12 points, 12 rebounds, three blocks, two assists) triple calming any nerves when the lead was cut to eight with 90 seconds to play.

It's his first campaign since he walked away from the sport as a 25-year-old in 2020.

On separate possessions he plucked possession and dunked on emerging 17-year-old Next Star Rocco Zikarsky (six points, four rebounds) while dominating the boards with six rebounds in the quarter.

It further amplified Baynes' absence, a man he ironically replaced on a 10-day contract at Phoenix when the Bullets centre was injured in what were Bolden's last NBA minutes.

Baynes will miss four more games after copping a suspension for three separate charges stemming from a fiery exchange in the Bullets' loss to Cairns last Saturday.

Without him, Zikarsky deputised for Tyrell Harrison (12 points on 71 per cent shooting), who has big shoes to fill in coming weeks.

Kouat Noi (14 points, six rebounds, three assists) did early damage from long-range to negate the Bullets' efficient start.

A DJ Mitchell (16 points, five assists) triple gave the home crowd life early in the third quarter, cutting the lead to eight. 

But in what seemed like a routine occurrence, it was Adams with an immediate reply, in the form of a smooth floater.

Alex Toohey (18 points on 7-of-8 shooting) then put the nail in the coffin late in the third quarter, a tough rebound and steal both leading to impressive finishes for the 19-year-old Next Star.

Bullets captain Nathan Sobey's (26 points, seven rebounds) best efforts were swallowed up by the Kings' many contributors.

The victory moved the Kings to 3-1 before hosting Perth, while a second straight loss for Brisbane (2-2) comes ahead of a trip to face Melbourne, also on Sunday.   

SYDNEY 113 (Adams 26, Toohey 18, Galloway 16)
BRISBANE 102 (Sobey 26, Smith 21, Mitchell 16)