United cruise home against Kings
BASKETBALL:
Melbourne United have cemented their place atop the NBL ladder with a 17-point thrashing of the Sydney Kings.
The league leaders won 93-76 at Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena yesterday to notch their 16th victory of the season and move one win ahead of Adelaide with a game in hand.
The Kings battled hard but had no answer for United import Josh Boone (pictured), who scored 18 of his game-high 22 points in the first half and added 13 rebounds and two blocked shots.
Chris Goulding contributed 22 points in an impressive performance for the visitors while Casper Ware chimed in with 20 points.
Sydney fell behind early but showed plenty of fight before succumbing late.
Todd Blanchfield top scored for Sydney with 18 points while Jerome Randle had 16 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.
Nine points from Boone saw the visitors establish an early lead and while Brad Newley and Perry Ellis combined to keep the Kings in touch, United led 23-18 at the end of the first term.
Melbourne went to the main break 43-35 ahead and maintained their advantage before Sydney launched a late charge but it wasn’t enough.
Ware answered again for Melbourne and a long bomb from David Barlow sent the lead back beyond double figures as United powered home to leave the Kings stranded at the bottom of the ladder.
Both teams will be back in action next Saturday, with United looking to take another step towards finishing top when they host Brisbane while Sydney faces an away clash with Cairns.