The Sydney Kings handed Melbourne United their second consecutive overtime loss after a thrilling come-from-behind six-point win on Sunday.
After being down by seven points with five minutes to play, the Kings forced the game to overtime at 84-all through a Xavier Cooks layup, assisted by Kendric Davis.
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Davis nailed a clutch three for the first points of a low-scoring overtime before later nailing a clutch free throw to make it an 88-86 lead with 11.4 seconds left.
United’s Chris Goulding had his winning-attempted three-pointer blocked by Cooks as the Kings sealed their second win at John Cain Arena against United this season.
The 92-86 result for United follows a nine-point overtime defeat to ladder leaders Adelaide 36ers on Friday night. It was also United’s fourth-straight loss as their struggles continue since starting the season 9-0 with the back-to-back reigning grand finalists falling to a 13-6 record for the season.
Davis stood out brilliantly yet again with a game-high 26 points, including eight in the final quarter. It follows a season-high 38-point game against Perth on Friday. Davis also had six assists as his strong form continues.
Former United star Matthew Dellavedova also performed strongly with 15 points and four boards to help lead the Kings to a ninth win this season, which solidifies their position in fourth.
Cooks finished the game with five rebounds and six points as Kouat Noi stood tall before going off with an elbow injury. Hunter Goodrick was also crucial with 10 boards and six points.
United struggled from three-point range, shooting just 1/28, while the Kings shot 13/36 from deep with Davis and Dellavedova nailing three each.
Cotton fouls out in 36ers OT victory | 01:10
KINGS OF JCA
The Kings handed United their first defeat of the season at John Cain Arena in Dellavedova’s homecoming in November and the NSW side maintained their strong form at the venue on Sunday.
In a hot start out of half time, the Kings went ballistic with a 9-0 run to make it a four-point lead after being down 45-50 at halftime.
A tight contest between the rivals continued as the Kings lifted for a second-straight win, which lifts their away record to 6-4.
CLUTCH NOI
Kouat Noi was the catalyst behind the Kings’ strong comeback after a sluggish start with a perfect 4/4 from the field for 10 points in the opening quarter including two threes.
The Kings got their first lead of the game (17-16) seven minutes into the game through a Noi three. They were trailing 10-nil 2min and 45sec earlier, marking a strong comeback for the visitors.
Noi spent an extended time off the court after exiting early in the second quarter due to a suspected right elbow injury, but he returned midway through the third with it strapped up.
The 28-year-old gave his elbow a test after some treatment but returned to the bench after a few minutes and sat out the remainder of the game.
OVERTIME
The trend of close matches between these two sides continued with another game decided by a close margin.
Heading into the game, four of the last five games between these sides had been decided by four points or less.
UNITED START
United got off to a hot 10-0 start with Finn Delany knocking down six points including the first four of the game.
The Kings called an early timeout after Tyson Walker stepped up with a layup to make it 6-0 but United continued to press even after the break.
Eventually, the Kings got their first bucket on their eighth attempt through a Kouat Noi layup just over four minutes into the game.
KRSLOVIC STANDS UP
Fabijan Krslovic had his best outing of the season with his 16 points beating his previous of 12 against South East Melbourne.
The Tasmanian NBL champion made a tap-in from an offensive rebound on the three-quarter time buzzer to put United 70-69 in front.
Then the forward nailed a two-pointer to put United up by seven with 5min 32sec left.
Finn Delany was also strong for United with his first double-double of the season with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
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