Kings hold out 'Cats after perfect start

Kendric Davis played like a man possessed early and his Sydney Kings teammates were along for the ride in a near perfect opening quarter hitting their first 10 shots in the eventual 99-91 Ignite Cup win over the Perth Wildcats.

The Kings might not have had the start on the road they were hoping for in Melbourne on Sunday, but sure turned that around with a blistering start at RAC Arena on Wednesday night.

With Davis clearly coming out with a point to prove, the Kings didn’t miss shot in the first seven minutes of the game and went 10/10 overall in that stretch including 5/5 from downtown to lead a stunned Wildcats 25-7.

Davis produced a perfect first 10 minutes of basketball with 16 points, 7/7 shooting, two assists and no turnovers for Sydney to lead 33-17 after one and by as much as 25 in the second frame.

Perth did at least go on a 9-1 run heading into half-time and then were able to build on that to get as close as six in the third term and then fourth early in the last.

Sydney held firm, though, to make it seven straight against the Wildcats to improve to 6-3 with Torrey Craig finishing with 26 points, five rebounds and two blocks with 4/11 shooting from the outside.

Davis only shot 2/11 after quarter-time but finished with 24 points with nine assists and seven rebounds while Andrew Carr had 15 points, eight rebounds and three steals, Makuach Maluach 14 points on 4/5 three-point shooting, and Tyler Robertson 11 points, three rebounds and three assists.

The Wildcats are now 5-3 with the loss with Brandon Knight a shining light in just his fourth game with 27 points, five rebounds and four assists.

Elijah Pepper also finished with 17 points with Dylan Windler contributing 16 points and three assists despite foul trouble, Jaron Rillie seven points and four assists, and Kristian Doolittle just the six points on 2/5 shooting but 15 rebounds and three assists.

The Kings couldn’t have possibly made a hotter start with the first 10 points of the game which soon turned into leads of 16-3, 23-5 and 25-7 before missing a shot.

Sydney hit their first 10 shots of the game including all five from beyond the arc before Jayden Stone was the one to miss the run of perfect shooting after seven minutes.

The Kings remained in control leading 33-17 by quarter-time on 13/14 shooting from the field and 7/8 from deep with a perfect opening term from Kendric Davis with 16 points with two assists on 7/7 shooting without a turnover.

The Sydney lead did balloon to as much as 25 in the second quarter as well and that without Davis even adding to his 16 points by that stage with Makuach Maluach continuing his remarkable shooting this season.

He was up to 14 points on 4/4 three-point shooting by half-time while Davis had 19 points and seven assists, but the 'Cats did take some momentum going into half-time.

Sydney still led 59-42 but Perth closed the half on a 9-1 run including a triple on the buzzer from Cam Huefner to at least be within touching distance still.

Brandon Knight sparked a fast start to the second half as well for the Wildcats and they did end up getting all the way back within six points before Davis knocked down his first shot since quarter-time shortly before the end of the third.

But Perth had done well to cut that Sydney's lead all the way back to 80-70 by three quarter-time and then it was back to a four-point game inside three minutes of the last quarter.

Torrey Craig responded with back-to-back mid-range jumpers for Sydney and in the finish the reigning champs did enough to hold on to win by eight and make it seven straight against the Wildcats.

Both teams back up again to play again in Round 7 with the Kings heading to Launceston in a top spot battle now with the Tasmania JackJumpers while the Wildcats remain home to host the bottom placed Illawarra Hawks on Saturday night.

PERTH WILDCATS 91 – SYDNEY KINGS 99

Perth Wildcats
Brandon Knight – 27 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists
Elijah Pepper – 17 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals
Dylan Windler – 16 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds, 2 steals
Anthony Dell'Orso – 7 points, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block
Kristian Doolittle – 6 points, 15 rebounds, 3 assists

Sydney Kings
Torrey Craig – 26 points, 5 rebounds, 2 blocks
Kendric Davis 24 points, 9 assists, 7 rebounds
Andrew Carr – 15 points, 8 rebounds, 3 steals
Makuach Maluach – 14 points, 4/5 3PT
Tyler Robertson – 11 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists