Delly bows to majestic Kings
NBA veteran Matthew Dellavedova was the headline act at Sydney Super Dome on Sunday, but the Kings prevented the fairytale start to his NBL debut for defending champion Melbourne United.
In front of 8632 fans, Dellavedova’s men made a late charge, whittling down a 12point margin in the final quarter to as little as three, but the home side hung on by five, giving American Chase Buford a winning start as head coach. Adding to the occasion for Dellavedova, who claimed an NBA championship ring with Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016, the 31-year-old was a late callup to become Melbourne’s third captain this week just before tip-off.
Veteran David Barlow was named as stand-in captain during the week following Australian Boomer Chris Goulding’s hamstring injury, but Dellavedova filled the breach when Barlow withdrew with back soreness.
The Kings were led by the US trio of Jaylen Adams, Jarell Martin and RJ Hunter – who all scored double figures, along with 26-year-old local Xavier Cooks. Adams – who spent time with Buford at the Milwaukee Bucks and Wisconsin Herd in the NBA G-League – led the way with 15 points.
Buford, who hails from NBA royalty as son of San Antonio Spurs legendary executive RC Buford, said the game “wasn’t the prettiest by any means.”
“We’ve been competing against each other for 3-4 months, (I think everybody) was happy to compete against somebody else for a real game,” Buford said.
“Offensively it was a sloppy game. We didn’t move it the way we wanted to move it, we didn’t run the way we want to run, we’ll grow.”
The Kings’ win made it seven in a row at home against United, the best streak against any NBL team.
KYRGIOS CHEERS KINGS
LONG-TIME Kings fan Nick Kyrgios was in the house to witness the opener. The tennis star was once quoted as saying he’d rather play basketball than tennis, famously saying he didn’t love his chosen sport.
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