Sydney Kings reclaimed NBL bragging rights over bitter rivals Illawarra on Sunday, hammering the Hawks 98-71 in a Freeway Series blow-out at WIN Entertainment Centre.
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Ending a six-game losing streak to the defending NBL champions stretching back to 2023, the Kings (7-5) led from start to finish to register their fourth straight victory, and the first for coach Brian Goorjian against Illawarra counterpart Justin Tatum.
Despite the lopsided score, the game was a typically fiery affair between the NSW clubs in the first leg of the Adrian Hurley Cup and the famed Freeway Series.
Referees handed out technical fouls to Sydney’s Xavier Cooks and Kouat Noi and Illawarra’s JaVale McGee and Todd Blanchfield, and blew an unsportsmanlike foul on Illawarra’s Mason Peatling, to maintain order on the court.
Sydney were without veterans Matthew Dellavedova (calf) and Shaun Bruce (illness) but it mattered little as they successfully executed Goorjian’s game plan to stifle Hawks big man JaVale McGee with swarming defence under the basket.
It was an unhappy afternoon for McGee, the three-time NBA champion, as he fouled out early in the fourth quarter with just nine points and nine rebounds to his name.
The game was played at a frantic early pace as the teams combined for 12 first-quarter turnovers and ice-cold shooting, but Sydney settled better to lead 18-14 at the break.
Leading 53-32 at half-time, the Kings held the hapless Hawks to their lowest scoring half of what has been a Jekyll-and-Hyde title defence so far.
'Light's out' shooting leads to win | 01:05
After successive wins against Melbourne and Cairns, the Hawks (5-6) remain in the bottom half of the ladder after another heavy defeat on their home floor.
Illawarra rallied with the first nine points of the third quarter to cut the deficit to 53-41, forcing Goorjian to call a time out, but the Kings responded to re-establish their advantage and build a 71-50 lead heading into the final period.
**Role players shine**
The absence of Dellavedova and Bruce, and Cooks’s early foul trouble, created opportunities for rarely used bench players Tyler Robertson and Hunter Goodrick.
Robertson, in only his sixth on-court appearance this season, delivered with an NBL career-high 14 points, including four-of-six from three-point range.
Goodrick battled on the boards against McGee and Peatling when the game was still a contest and was rewarded with eight points and five rebounds.
**‘Soft’ call turns heads**
Kings and former Hawks forward Xavier Cooks was called for a tech foul late in the second quarter after getting tangled up with Illawarra’s Davo Hickey on a rebounding contest.
Cooks extended the hand of friendship to help his Australian Boomers teammate off the floor under the Illawarra basket but Hickey rejected the offer, so Cooks pushed his leg and walked away, only to be hit with a tech for his troubles.
Hickey made the technical free throw but Cooks then knocked down his two free throws for the initial foul committed on him.
After suggesting the call was “soft”, a smiling Cooks tried to high five with Hickey after hitting the two shots from the charity stripe, but Hickey again turned him down.
Cooks had the last laugh against the club where he began his career, contributing 13 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
**Milestone men**
It was supposed to be a day of celebration for Hickey and Hawks teammate Todd Blanchfield, playing their 100th and 450th NBL games respectively, but it was anything but.
Hickey (19 points, eight rebounds, eight assists) did all he could to spark the Hawks, but his energy and enthusiasm were not enough on a rough afternoon in Wollongong.
Blanchfield was used sparingly off the bench and went scoreless until garbage time, knocking down a three-pointer, after picking up a tech foul for his part in a push-and-shove with Sydney’s Kouat Noi in the second quarter.
Taipans still last as Phoenix run riot | 00:59
**‘SUPERSTAR’ VERDICT ON EX-NBA VET AS BRYCE INSPIRES OT WIN**
Adelaide superstar Bryce Cotton inspired the 36ers in an overtime thriller against the Cairns Taipans on Sunday, with the five-time NBL MVP dropping a game-high 41 points in a pulsating four-point win.
Mike Wells’ side took a 10-point lead into the final term at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre, but the rallying visitors sliced that margin to one point with just under a minute remaining.
In a tense final minute of regulation, a turnover from Zylan Cheatham gave Cairns the ball with Marcus Lee fouled with 34 seconds left on the clock.
Lee tied it up with his first shot, but missed the second, with Cotton missing two opportunities to take the win, with the game going to overtime where he got the job done.
The brave Taipans trailed by three points with a minute remaining in overtime, but a Jack McVeigh foul on Cotton proved pivotal, with the star guard icing his free throws to seal the win that improves his side’s win-loss record to 9-3.
McVeigh drained a career-high 39 points for the last-placed Taipans who slipped to a 3-11 record with the result.
Isaac Humphries passed a pre-game fitness test after rolling an ankle in Thursday night’s win over Tasmania, and the star centre finished with 18 points and 13 rebounds.
**Hot starts stopped**
Adelaide had won 10 opening terms this season, and 13 of its past 14, but the visitors started brightly.
Mojave King drained three triples to propel his side to a one-point lead at the first break, with McVeigh chipping in with 10 points as the Sixers struggled to get their offence humming.
The home side shot 0-of-5 to start the game before Cotton drained his opening three-pointer and then added another triple to get Adelaide’s offence rolling.
Wildcats win despite Cotton's 23-PT's | 01:11
**Welcome, Troy!**
New Adelaide import Troy Brown Jr checked into the game four minutes into the first quarter and the former NBA first-round draft pick made an immediate impact, draining his first shot as a Sixer.
Brown Jr, a veteran of 356 NBA games, hadn’t played a game for seven months but showed few signs of rust in an impressive start.
“He has the makings to be a superstar in this league,” NBL legend Andrew Gaze said of Brown Jr on ESPN.
**Triple trouble**
McVeigh continued on his merry way in the second quarter, leading all players with a game-high 22 points, including 4-of-5 shooting from three-point range, but the Taipans didn’t help their cause with Admiral Schofield and Lee whistled for unsportsmanlike fouls.
The 36ers made the most of the gifts, with Cotton leading the charge, but Wells’ side had trouble connecting from long range in the first half, shooting 5-of-16 from outside the arc to the Taipans’ 8-of-14 at 57 per cent.
**Cold Cairns**
Having taken the game right up to the Sixers in the first half, suddenly cold Cairns managed just four points in the first five minutes of the third quarter.
Adelaide was dominating offensive rebounds 14-2 with two minutes remaining in the third quarter, with the home side making a move with a 27-18 quarter to storm to a 10-point lead at the last change.