The Adelaide 36ers have continued their excellent form, defeating the Sydney Kings by seven points on the road.
Final score
Sydney Kings 96
Adelaide 36ers 103
The Sydney Kings will be looking to bounce back and reclaim top spot on the NBL ladder when they host the Adelaide 36ers, attempting to complete the Round 11 double-header. Join The Roar for live scores from 3pm (AEDT).
It’s a massive round for the two sides, competing for top spot on the ladder which reversed on Friday when the sides played their first game of a double-header.
The Kings might have looked like the better team heading into the final quarter, holding a six-point lead but they only scored 15 points in the last ten minutes, sliding to a two-point defeat on the buzzer.
Sydney made some baffling plays during the final quarter, none more so than in the last minute and it shows pressure is starting to get to the club.
That’s hardly a surprise as the Kings stumbled to their sixth loss in eight games, the club finally losing their stranglehold over the top of the table that they have had since a brilliant start to the season.
With the Kings sliding back into the pack on what is a ridiculously congested ladder, a loss here could drop them back to third by the end of the round.
While Kevin Lisch and Brad Newley are consistently doing their job in the side, others aren’t standing up to the level required, with Jason Cadee in particular needing to lift his game.
Cadee’s shooting has been way off, while Josh Powell is not giving Sydney the lift they need in the paint.
The 36ers rise to the top of the table has been astronomical over the last couple of the weeks, with the Adelaide-based club winning six games on the trot.
They have come all the way from the bottom in the space of a month, recording two wins over the Kings in that space of time with a chance to wrap up the season series here.
The club have simply had a chance of attitude on the offensive end and while there are still problems on defence that will need to be addressed before a potential finals run, their transition offence has been scintillating.
It’s hard to single out any player who needs to lift his game, but with Jerome Randle running the show at a million miles an hour, putting up huge numbers every game it’s not hard to see why the 36ers have shot to the top.
Prediction
The Kings will be looking to bounce back from their defeat on Friday, but they just don’t look like doing it. Despite the fact the 36ers pulled off a comeback on Friday, they are finding a way to win and could do so again despite being on the road.
Don’t take that tip as a confident one though. Could be overtime here.
36ers by 4.
Be sure to join The Roar for live scores of this top of the table match from 3pm (AEDT) and don’t forget to add your own comments in the section below.
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Bexdog
Guest
I was at this game. First time at an nbl game since I was 12. The refs were poor (especially when giving the worst tech foul I've seen) but the kings just kept taking woeful shots in the final quarter. They should have gone to cadee more towards the end. He was heating up but they kept trying to drive into congested lanes.
sean
Guest
I don't think anyone should attend or watch NBL games until there is investment into the Refs..... absolutely destroyed the game of basketball today.. Kings vs 76'ers... that was not basketball.... if the point of the game was to get ref's face on tv.. well ok thats the game we saw tonight.