Kings hammer depleted Hawks

It was a battle between the last two NBL champions, but the Sydney Kings continued their hot start to the championship defence, keeping the Illawarra Hawks winless to open NBL27 with a 121-100 victory.

On the back of last Sunday's 111-90 win at Afterpay Arena against the Cairns Taipans, the Kings looked to remain unbeaten as the Hawks arrived still hunting a first win after losses to the New Zealand Breakers and Brisbane Bullets.

The Hawks were decimated in their front court too having parted ways with championship import Darius Days and with Mason Peatling and Todd Blanchfield out injured, and the Kings showed they are well prepared early in their title defence.

Sydney put up an offensive onslaught with 31 points in the first quarter, 34 in the second, 33 in the third, and 23 in the fourth, finishing at 56 per cent from the field, 10/25 from the outside, and 27/32 at the foul line.

The Hawks had no answers and while they did shoot 51 per cent from the floor and 37 from downtown, they went to the free-throw 15 fewer times going 13/17.

Sydney pulled down 16 offensive rebounds to seven as well with Championship Series MVP Kendric Davis starring with 31 points, six assists and four rebounds in 28 minutes.

Makuach Maluach went 6/6 from the floor and 4/4 at the stripe for 19 points and four rebounds with Torrey Craig delivering 20 points on 8/11 shooting, and Xavier Cooks eight points, four rebounds and two assists.

Andrew Carr chimed in with six points, 12 rebounds and two blocks with Harry Wessels adding six points and two rebounds, and Matthew Dellavedova five points and five assists.

Will Johnston also added a punch off the bench with 14 points, four rebounds and four assists.

It was rough for the Hawks as they fell to 0-3, with Sam Froling finishing with 21 points in game 201, Kelan Martin with 21 points and seven rebounds, and Kyle Adnam with 17 points and 3/6 three-point shooting.

Tyler Harvey had all 12 of his points in the first half, while Milton Doyle finished with nine points and six assists before fouling out just over three minutes into the third quarter.

It was a high-scoring, entertaining first quarter, with no more than five points separating the two teams, and the Kings led 31-27 at quarter-time.

Kendric Davis already had 10 points for Sydney, and Torrey Craig had nine, with them shooting 14/20 from the field, while Sam Froling had 10 points for the Hawks and Tyler Harvey had nine, with them shooting 12/19.

The Kings kept their offensive flow going in the second quarter with another 34 points on 11/20 shooting while going 10/14 at the foul line.

They also got their teeth in defensively to limit Illawarra to 18 points on 7/15 shooting and into another seven turnovers to have 12 by half-time.

That saw Sydney leading 65-45 by half-time and then things took a turn for the worse for the Hawks with Milton Doyle picking up a technical foul just as he was starting to warm up offensively.

That was his fifth foul of the game, so his night ended early, and coach Justin Tatum was teed up shortly after, with Sydney piling on another 33 points to 26 to lead 98-71 by three quarter-time.

The Hawks might have 29 points to 23 in the fourth quarter but it was only wallpaper over the cracks with the Kings winning by 21.

The Kings remain at home to host the Brisbane Bullets on Wednesday night while the Hawks play their first game at the WIN Entertainment Centre on Friday against the Adelaide 36ers.

SYDNEY KINGS 121 – ILLAWARRA HAWKS 100

Sydney Kings
‍Kendric Davis – 31 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds
Torrey Craig – 20 points, 3 rebounds
Makuach Maluach – 19 points, 4 rebounds, 6/6 FG
Will Johnston – 14 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists
Xavier Cooks – 8 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists

Illawarra Hawks
Kelan Martin – 21 points, 7 rebounds
Sam Froling – 21 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists
Kyle Adnam – 17 points, 3/6 3PT
Tyler Harvey – 12 points, 4 assists
Milton Doyle – 9 points, 6 assists