Melbourne United got the job done at home with a 14-point win over the Sydney Kings to go 7-0 in a great start to the season.
Starting the game in hot form United led at quarter time 34-17 thanks to star Chris Goulding who was hitting threes at will. The Kings were able to slow the scoring in the second quarter winning it 20-16 to trail at half time 50-37 with Marcus Thornton keeping them within scoring distance.
United were able to win a tight contest in the third quarter 26-20 with Blanchfield and Kickert dominating play.
The last quarter the Kings continued to fight hard and were able to pull back the margin but weren’t able to get within striking distance of a lead, ultimately losing by 14.
MVP of the game was United’s Daniel Kickert who scored 21 points and had the better of Al Harrington (9 points). Thornton top scored for the Kings with 29 points and kept them within reach for most of the game.
The Kings are now 2-5 and their season is slipping away.
Final score
Melbourne 96
Sydney 82
Melbourne United are looking to maintain their perfect undefeated record when they host the Sydney Kings this afternoon. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from the game at 3:00pm AEDT.
Sydney haven’t had a great start to the new NBL season. They dropped four of their first five matches but are now 2-4 and sitting seventh on the ladder after a win over Townsville on Friday night.
Melbourne on the other hand are in a great position – comfortably on top of the ladder as the only undefeated team left in the league, they went up to a 6-0 record with their 2-point win over the Wildcats earlier in the week.
A big part of the reason for Melbourne’s success so far this season is their miserly defence, which is conceding less than 76 points per game. At the moment, they are the hardest team to score against in the NBL.
A win for the Kings would see them shoot up the ladder to at least fifth, and possibly higher with a solid margin. But, it’s a big task. They will either have to crack the tough nut that is Melbourne’s defence, or make a big defensive effort themselves.
Perth managed to shutdown Melbourne’s offense at times and that brought them so very close to a win, but it’s a big ask for the Kings to do the same.
They’ll be looking at Al Harrington – playing his second game for the team – as well as Julian Khazzough and Marcus Thornton – to get plenty of points on the board and give them a chance.
Melbourne will not make it easy for them however and after a nailbiting win over the Wildcats will be looking to have a more comfortable victory this time around.
If they do get the victory it will make them 7-0, three wins ahead of the Perth Wildcats in second place (though the Wildcats have played one less game).
Prediction: Melbourne by 17.
Jason Dowlin
Roar Guru
Game wrap: United get the job done at home to go 7-0 in a great start to the season. Starting the game in hot form United led at quarter time 34-17 thanks to star Chris Goulding who was hitting three's at will. The Kings were able to slow the scoring in the second quarter winning it 20-16 to trail at half time 50-37 with Marcus Thornton keeping them within scoring distance. United were able to win a tight contest in the third quarter 26-20 with Blanchfield and Kickert dominating play. The last quarter the Kings continued to fight hard and were able to pull back the margin but weren't able to pull the margin back under double figures losing by 14. MVP of the game was United's Daniel Kickert who scored 21 points and had the better of al Harrington(9 points). Thornton top scored for the Kings with 29 points and kept the Kings within reach for most of the game, the Kings are now 2-5 and there season is slipping away. Final score: United 96 defeated Kings 82 Crowd: 8,500. MVP: Daniel Kickert ( United). Jason Dowlin
Isaac
Guest
Good play Melbourne united you played we'll Sydney kings good come back better luck next time.
Jason Dowlin
Roar Guru
Summary Game Summary Melbourne United Sydney Kings 36/70 (51%) Field Goals 33/70 (47%) 17/34 (50%) 3 Points 5/20 (25%) 7/14 (50%) Free Throws 11/18 (61%) 35 Rebounds 34 19 Assists 8 4 Steals 5 0 Blocks 2 13 Turnovers 11 18 (17) Fouls (Fouls On) 17 (18) 32 Points in the Paint 36 6 Second Chance Points 10 16 Points off Turnovers 19
Jason Dowlin
Roar Guru
Melbourne United STARTERS FG REB AS ST BS PTS S. Holt 4-11 5 6 0 0 11 T. Blanchfield 5-9 7 4 0 0 14 D. Kickert (C) 8-12 2 1 1 0 21 M. Majok 2-3 11 1 0 0 5 C. Goulding 10-19 2 4 0 0 25 BENCH FG REB AS ST BS PTS E. Golong 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 I. Hadziomerovic 1-2 0 0 0 0 3 C. Patton 2-3 4 0 0 0 4 N. Tomlinson 1-1 0 2 1 0 4 K. Adnam 0-2 0 1 0 0 0 B. Hill 3-6 3 0 1 0 9 G. Jackson 0-2 1 0 1 0 0 TEAM TOTALS 36-70 35 19 4 0 96 Coach: Dean Demopoulos Points from Turnovers: 16 Points in the Paint: 32 Assistant: Mike Kelly, Simon Mitchell Second Chance Points: 6 Fast Break Points: 0Sydney Kings STARTERS FG REB AS ST BS PTS M. Thornton 13-23 5 0 2 0 29 J. Cadee 6-10 7 1 0 0 13 J. Khazzouh 5-11 4 1 0 0 12 D. Prewster 0-3 1 0 0 0 2 T. Garlepp (C) 2-4 4 2 1 1 6 BENCH FG REB AS ST BS PTS A. Brandt 0-1 4 1 0 0 0 R. Carter 3-7 1 2 2 0 7 J. Hill 2-2 3 1 0 1 4 J. Hodgson 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 A. Harrington 2-9 5 0 0 0 9 TEAM TOTALS 33-70 34 8 5 2
Jason Dowlin
Roar Guru
Well what do you think of that? United get the job done at home. Game wrap to follow from this one. Thank you for joining me today. Please leave comments regarding the rounds matches and in particular this game. United defeat the Kings 96-82 in front of 8,500 at Hisense arena in Melbourne,hope everyone continues to enjoy there long weekend,till next time bye from me. Game wrap and stats to come
Jason Dowlin
Roar Guru
Thornton hits the jumper and game over. United are 7-0 and are flying. United 96 Kings 82 Time left: full time Player of the game : Daniel Kickert
Jason Dowlin
Roar Guru
United ball with just over 2 minutes to go. Homicide talking smack. Jackson missed two. Thornton hits a two. United resting all starters. Turnover. Kings carter missed two. United ball. Adnam great charge to the basket and pass to Patton for a two. Patton fouls Brandt. Kings ball. Carter two for Kings. Turnover. United 96 Kings 80 Time left: 1 Quarter: 4th
Jason Dowlin
Roar Guru
8,500 fans at Hisense arena
Jason Dowlin
Roar Guru
United ball. Goulding misses fade away two. Cadee hits a three. United ball. Majok finishes at the rim. Hill gets two for the Kings. Time out. United 94 Kings 72 Time left: 2 Quarter: 4th
Jason Dowlin
Roar Guru
Majok board on the miss from Harrington. Goulding runs to the hoop for two. Kings turnover. Kickert threeeeeeeee. United 92 Kings 67 Time left: 3 Quarter: 4th
Jason Dowlin
Roar Guru
After the time out Kings ball. Khazzouh hits a two and one. Misses it. United ball. Kickert is fouled and finishes the two. Hits the free throw. United 87 Kings 67 Time left: 4 Quarter: 4th
Jason Dowlin
Roar Guru
United ball. Kickert big time threeeeeeeeeeeeee. Kings ball. Khazzouh missed shot. United down the floor. Blanchfield big thrrrreeeeeeeee. And badaaaa bing badaaaa boo United lead by 19. United 84 Kings 65 Time left: 5 Quarter: 4th
Jason Dowlin
Roar Guru
Goulding missed three. Khazzouh gets a two. Missed shot from hadziomerovic. Carter missed three. Cadee gets the board a score a two. Hill missed two. Kings are coming. Charge call. Hill gets fouled. United ball. United 78 Kings 65 Time left: 6 Quarter: 4th
Jason Dowlin
Roar Guru
United ball. Turnover Kings ball. Down the floor come the Kings. Turnover ball. Harrington dunks the ball. United 78 Kings 61 Time left: 7 Quarter: 4th
Jason Dowlin
Roar Guru
Time out called.
Jason Dowlin
Roar Guru
Thornton stuffs a big two. United 78 Kings 59 Time left: 8 Quarter: 4th
Jason Dowlin
Roar Guru
Final quarter away. United ball. Turnover Kings ball. Screen foul. Thornton missed two. United ball. Goulding hits a two. Kings ball. Harrington fouled. United 78 Kings 57 Time left: 8 Quarter: 4th
Jason Dowlin
Roar Guru
Melbourne United STARTERS FG REB AS ST BS PTS S. Holt 4-11 5 4 0 0 11 T. Blanchfield 4-8 6 4 0 0 11 D. Kickert (C) 5-9 1 1 0 0 12 M. Majok 1-2 10 1 0 0 3 C. Goulding 8-15 2 4 0 0 21 BENCH FG REB AS ST BS PTS E. Golong 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 I. Hadziomerovic 1-1 0 0 0 0 3 C. Patton 1-2 4 0 0 0 2 N. Tomlinson 1-1 0 1 0 0 4 K. Adnam 0-1 0 0 0 0 0 B. Hill 3-5 2 0 1 0 9 G. Jackson 0-1 1 0 1 0 0 TEAM TOTALS 28-56 31 15 2 0 76 Coach: Dean Demopoulos Points from Turnovers: 10 Points in the Paint: 24 Assistant: Mike Kelly, Simon Mitchell Second Chance Points: 6 Fast Break Points: 0Sydney Kings STARTERS FG REB AS ST BS PTS M. Thornton 10-18 3 0 1 0 23 J. Cadee 1-5 4 1 0 0 2 J. Khazzouh 4-9 4 1 0 0 10 D. Prewster 0-3 1 0 0 0 2 T. Garlepp (C) 2-4 4 2 1 1 6 BENCH FG REB AS ST BS PTS A. Brandt 0-1 3 0 0 0 0 R. Carter 2-4 1 2 1 0 5 J. Hill 0-0 1 0 0 0 0 J. Hodgson 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 A. Harrington 2-7 3 0 0 0 9 TEAM TOTALS 21-51 24 6 3 1 57 Coach: Damian Cotter Points from Turnovers: 11 Points in the Paint: 20 Assistant: Jakob Jackomas, Second Chance Points: 4 Fast Break Points: 2 Commisioner: Referees: Legend POS: Position Played, MIN Minutes Played, FG: Field Goals, FG%: Field Goal Percentage, 3P: 3 Point Field Goals, 3%: 3 Point Percentage, FT: Free Throws, FT%: Free Throw %, OFF: Offensive Rebounds, DEF: Defensive Rebounds, REB: Total Rebounds, AS: Assists, TO: Turnovers, ST: Steals, BS: Blocked Shots, PF: Fouls, PTS: Total Points, EFF: Efficiency, ▌ On Court
Jason Dowlin
Roar Guru
Hadziomerovic hits one of two free throws. Three quarter time. United 76 Kings 57 Time left: three quarter time Quarter: 3rd
Jason Dowlin
Roar Guru
Thornton hits a three. United ball. Tomlinson shooting free throws. Hits one of two. Kings ball. Prewster missed three. Blanchfield missed fade away two. United 75 Kings 57 Time left: 10 secs Quarter: 3rd