United edge out Kings in thriller
DEFENDING NBL champion Melbourne United has spoiled Andrew Bogut’s homecoming by defeating the Sydney Kings 77-70 last night.
The home side led the Melbourne Cup-eve clash between the fierce interstate rivals from start to finish but needed a fourth-quarter surge to pull away from Sydney for good.
Melbourne Arena was filled to capacity to witness NBA champion Bogut play his first NBL match in his hometown but United import DJ Kennedy was the standout performer, finishing with 24 points and 10 rebounds.
Mitch McCarron (14) and David Barlow (11) provided valuable assistance, with captain Chris Goulding’s knee injury ruling him out of the contest. Bogut struggled offensively (eight points on fourof-10 shooting) but wreaked havoc at the defensive end, recording 15 rebounds and three blocks while thwarting numerous Melbourne drives to the basket. United restricted the Kings to 11 points in the first quarter but Bogut’s presence under the basket ensured the home side could only build a six-point lead.
Melbourne charged to double-digit leads in the second and third quarters but the Kings kept clawing their way back thanks to the play of Jerome Randle and Kevin Lisch, each adding 15 points.
But the Kings had no answer in the fourth quarter as Melbourne claimed its fourth win in the past five games. With the capacity crowd cheering it on, United jumped out to a 10-2 start, with Sydney missing its first six shots.
Lisch finally broke through for the Kings, cashing in from long range following a Bogut blocked shot, but the home side went into quarter time ahead 17-11. Former Melbourne guard Kyle Adnam added some spark for the Kings in the second quarter but Ware connected twice from beyond the arc as United built an 11-point advantage.
The Kings rallied behind Randle’s hot shooting but after cutting the margin to three, Barlow nailed a late triple for the home side to take a 35-29 lead into halftime.
A 6-0 run to open the third quarter saw United push the lead out 12 points but Sydney fought back again as Brad Newley and Daniel Kickert hit the scoreboard to keep the deficit to six points heading into the final term.