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A dead rubber came to life on Saturday night when the Townsville Crocodiles downed the Sydney Kings by three-points in a high-scoring overtime thriller.
It was an offensive onslaught from both the Crocs and Kings. Led out of the gates by Tom Garlepp, the Kings jumped the Crocs early but Townsville didn’t back down.
By halftime with the scores tied at 50 we all knew it was heading somewhere special, where it went though nobody expected.
A monster third quarter from the Crocs as they dropped in 39 to the Kings’ 25 saw the lead at 14 with the last quarter to play and that’s when things got interesting.
Star import Josh Childress turned it on late scoring at will and feeding his teammates and setting up the enormous corner three from Marcus Thornton that sent the game into overtime.
In overtime it was all Townsville early, they came out with more venom and made the Kings pay for defensive lapses.
But as it went all night it wasn’t over, Sydney fought there way back and with barely any time left on the clock they got the ball in to Jason Cadee who heaved up a desperation three that only just missed.
Townsville secured their 12th win of the season and left Sydney stranded on 6 wins for the season. A balanced attack was critical for the Crocs tonight and everyone delivered in a big way, sending the fan base into the off-season with a smile on their faces.
Final scores
Townsville Crocodiles 126
Sydney Kings 123
The Townsville Crocodiles and Sydney Kings will do battle tonight in their final game of the 2015-16 NBL season. Join The Roar for live scores of all the action from 7:30pm (AEDT).
In what hasn’t exactly been a stellar season for both sides they’ll look to finish on a strong note and finish on a two-game winning streak.
The Sydney Kings will be seeking their seventh victory after downing the second placed Perth Wildcats on Wednesday night at home. The victory was sealed with a big game from key import Josh Childress, finishing with 25 points (9/13) and 11 rebounds. After an injury riddled season, Childress found his rhythm and took his frustrations out on a depleted Wildcats roster.
Townsville, on the other hand, are coming off of a victory against the Cairns Taipans and will want to give their home crowd something to cheer about heading into the off-season. A balanced attack with four out of five starters scoring double digits was the big factor in the game.
The Crocs have shown in recent weeks they’re able to go on offensive bursts, however, it isn’t in their mantra to win high scoring contests and with the Kings nearing full strength they’ll have to be on offensive.
Childress is the key man for this game, his ability to cover anyone defensively and then get to his spots offensively are second to none in this league. The Crocs will have their hands full trying to cover him and will have to rely on a mix of looks defensively to try and quell his impact.
A balanced attack will be a necessity for the Crocs if they want to record their 11th win for the season, however, if Nicholas Kay and Jordair Jett can find their range like they did against Illawarra in Round 18 they’ll give the Kings serious troubles.
Whilst the seasons haven’t been a success, heading into the off-season after a two-game win streak, at least, gives the club and fan base a glimmer of hope over heading in on a losing note.
Prediction
Sydney Kings firepower to prove too much to handle with Childress to record yet another 20 and 10 game and give the Kings a 25 percent win rate for the season.
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