It’s too early to be handing out gold rings, but the Sydney Kings will gladly settle for five-straight wins as they demolished fierce rivals Illawarra in a spiteful Christmas night affair that would’ve seen a few names added to Santa’s naughty list.
The Kings are now in outright fourth spot on the NBL ladder after they claimed a 108-84 victory at home thanks to their best first half of the season.
While defence has been their forte this year, they exploded out of the blocks with 62 points to lead by 21 at the main break.
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Kendric Davis continued his hot run of form with a game-high 27 points to go with nine assists and four rebounds, while Xavier Cooks was clinical in the paint as he added 21 points and six boards in the resounding victory.
The Kings were efficient with everything they did on Thursday night, with Kouat Noi draining six threes off the bench.
FINALS FANTASY
The champions are now 6-13 and are long odds to defend their title, let alone make the playoffs following another disappointing display on the road.
There was one positive with Sam Froling making his return from the Achilles injury that ended his finals run last season, and he was great with 13 points and 12 rebounds as he provided a dual aerial threat with Javale McGee (20 points).
A pair of missed free throws from Froling earned the crowd at Qudos Bank Arena free cheeseburgers, but that’s the least of Illawarra’s concerns.
They struggled for a spark without the injured Tyler Harvey, with the team shooting just 40 per cent from the field.
There was a scare when Will Hickey went down clutching his left ankle after he rolled it in the second quarter, but thankfully he was able to return to the court.
NAUGHTY LIST
Things always get a bit heated when these two teams come together, with tempers threatening to boil over a number of times in a spiteful second quarter.
Hawks coach Justin Tatum was hit with a technical foul for sarcastically applauding a call that went his side’s way, but he wasn’t cheering moments later as the whistle repeatedly went against his team.
QJ Peterson was almost ejected for elbowing Bul Kuol in the ribs three minutes into the second quarter, with the Hawks star escaping with an unsportsmanlike foul.
The blowout didn’t calm things down with some push and shove in the final four minutes that saw double technicals issued and Wani Swaka Lo Buluk foul out.
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