Kendric Davis won the duel of Sydney Kings point guards, past and present, with a knockout victory over the Brisbane Bullets’ Jaylen Adams in the NBL.
The Kings rode an 18-point lead at quarter-time to a much-needed 116-79 thrashing of the Bullets at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre.
The quickness, passing and precise jumpers from Davis consistently did the damage for the Kings who found some redemption after blowing a 15-point final quarter lead against the Tasmania JackJumpers a week ago.
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The Kings rise to 4-5 and they can thank Davis in that decisive first quarter when he scored eight of his 19 points (seven-of-15) and dished off two of his seven assists for the night.
That sleepy opening quarter from the Bullets undid all the positive signs from their 28-point win over Cairns on the same pine 48 hours earlier.
The Kings got a 35-17 jump in the opening period when vastly superior defence also triggered most of the Bullets’ five wasteful early turnovers.
Adams led the Kings to their 2022 NBL championship so this match-up meant something. He missed all three of his shots from the field in that opening quarter and his inconsistency for 13 points (six-of-16) mirrored the Bullets as a whole.
The 4-7 Bullets had less chemistry than “Bear” Myrden and a tearful suitor on The Golden Bachelor for the opening 15 minutes of the game when they were in a 20-point ditch.
They had their positive runs and closed the margin to just six points for a blink (64-58) midway through the third term. Talisman Casey Prather (24) was always at the heart of it when the home team rallied.
The one big plus for the Bullets was new import Dakota Mathias clicked. He hit two neat threes, injected 16 points and added a selfless extra passing quality that the Bullets need.
WHERE’S THE CONSISTENCY?
The Bullets had a surge of 37 points from Kiwi Taine Murray, Alex Ducas and Tristan Devers against the Cairns Taipans. Two nights later, they provided a paltry 10 points between them with four-of-14 shooting.
That’s not production you can rely on.
The Bullets are now 1-4 on their home court and that stings when campaigns are built at your own fortress.
DON’T BLAME FATIGUE
Sure the Bullets were playing their second game in three nights but they were sleeping in their own beds for back-to-back home games which is a dream.
Even hinting at fatigue doesn’t wash. The best Bulets teams in the 1980s could win the Doomsday Double in Adelaide and Perth over the same span with 4000km-plus of air travel thrown in.
REDEMPTION FOR COOKS
It was tall Xavier Cooks who had his in-bound pass inexplicably poached when the Kings self-destructed in the finals seconds against the JackJumpers. He was back to his slick best against the Bullets with an equal-game high 24 points and 10 rebounds.
The first of his two-handed dunks for the night in the first quarter came with a bonus fist pump to show he meant business.
The Kings lost a ‘”big” from their rotation with Makuach Maluach having to be assisted from the court in the final quarter with what appeared to be a knee injury.
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