Kings win cracker over Bullets to stay alive.. just

The Sydney Kings have held on for a thrilling 83-82 win over the Brisbane Bullets at Qudos Bank Arena on Saturday night, but now have to pray their vanquished opponents can produced a miracle for them to make the #NBL21 finals.

The Bullets were down and out at three quarter-time, trailing by 12 points and looking consigned to a heavy defeat. 

But they stormed out of the break with the first nine points and when BJ Johnson slammed home a statement dunk they finally stole the lead back with less than 90 seconds left on the clock in front of a monster 9267 crowd at Qudos Bank Arena.

Shaun Bruce hit his foul shots to put the Kings back up by one point with 14 seconds left in the game leading to a Bullets timeout.

It seemed over when Jason Cadee lost the ball over the sideline, but an inexplicable Casper Ware offensive foul on Nathan Sobey gave Brisbane one last chance. BJ Johnson had a shot at the game winner but the pressing Sydney defence rushed him off his shot.

The result means the Kings finish the regular season level with wins with the fourth-placed South East Melbourne Phoenix who have all-but secured the final spot in the #NBL21 top four, although the Kings can still pray for a miracle.

They will now rely on the Bullets comprehensively flogging the Phoenix on Tuesday in their final match of the season to close the gap on percentage points. The magical number is a 78-point Brisbane win for Sydney to replace South East Melbourne in fourth.

The Kings have been battered by injury this season but have performed admirably to remain in the mix right up until the 11th hour. There could be one last twist in the tale before departing coach Adam Forde rides off into the sunset.

With a tomorrow to potentially still play for, Jarell Martin was enormous for the Kings with 28 points and six rebounds. Casper Ware had 14 points, three rebounds and three assists and veteran Daniel Kickert finished with 10 points and three rebounds in his 200th NBL game.

Adam Forde has all-but conceded that his Kings outfit will not play finals this season and the outgoing coach was jovial to the end.

"I called a time out and told the boys, let's make things interesting. So we slowed the offence and turned the ball over a few times, I am joking of course," he laughed.

"Brisbane did what Brisbane does, we knew they would lift the intensity and get up the lanes more, they are so good at that, right? Even though we knew they were coming, there was a not a lot we could do to stop the bleeding.

"The results fell the way they did, we are still a chance right? Brisbane only needs to win by 77 points and we've got ourselves a finals berth. We wish those guys (South East Melbourne) good luck in the finals, if Brisbane somehow gets a record 77 point win we are still alive. We will see what happens."

The Bullets fought to the end but they will be left to rue another season that could have been, effectively derailed when they lost star import Vic Law after the NBL Cup. 

Nathan Sobey filled his boots with 21 points, eight rebounds and five assists and he will now turn his attention toward making the trimmed down Boomers squad for the Tokyo Olympics. 

BJ Johnson (17 points, five rebounds) had his best game in Bullets colours and may yet factor in the planning for next season after originally coming in to replace departed import Orlando Johnson. 

With three imports likely in season 2021/22, there would be room for Johnson, Lamar Patterson (15 points, five rebounds, three assists) and Law. 

Bullets coach Andrej Lemanis admitted that the energy was sapped from the group when news filtered through that the Phoenix had beaten New Zealand, impacting them at times in the match.

"When New Zealand lost to South East Melbourne, obviously the sting came out of this game," he said.

"It was always going to be a bit of a challenge to maintain that intensity that over the course of 40 minutes would give us a chance to be successful.

"It is easy to take shortcuts where there is no jeopardy on the game, I think that showed on the game at various times tonight."

Lemanis will be departing for Japan after this season and hopes that his side can lift for one final win on Tuesday against the Phoenix, even though their finals hopes are dashed.

"I really want to enjoy it with this group, they have been a wonderful group all year," he said.

"I have enjoyed this group all season, they are a wonderful group to work with and I want to enjoy the next few days with this team and enjoy our last experiences."

It was an entertaining and freewheeling first half as both sides fought like there was no tomorrow. Kickert was splashing triples with ease but newly minted Sobey was answering in kind and it was the Bullets who led 24-17 at the first break.

The visitors exploded out of the gate and led by as many as 11 points in the second quarter, but the Kings were not going to let their season evaporate that easily. They roared past the Bullets with a huge 29-17 quarter, taking a 46-43 lead into the half-time break.

It seemed to stunned the Bullets who needed a cricket score to be any shot of making the post-season and they were reduced to passengers as the Kings pushed their lead out to eight. Things got worse for Brisbane when Sobey was called for an unsportsmanlike foul after collecting Ware in the head. 

Kickert was turning back the clock as he pushed into double figures with the final score of the third quarter, the Kings leading 70-58 with the finish line in sight.

There was one more chapter left for the Bullets who scored the first nine points of the final quarter to slash the margin to just three points. It was a nervous time for the Kings but they were able to push their way back out in front. Brisbane refused to say die, though, and had their chances to steal the match.

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL ROUND 21

SYDNEY KINGS 83 (Martin 28, Ware 14, Kickert 10)

BRISBANE BULLETS 82 (Sobey 22, Johnson 17, Patterson 15) 

BOX SCORE