Kings run away in Overtime

The Sydney Kings have secured their second win of the season with a thrilling 122-115 victory over a gutsy Adelaide 36ers at the Distinctive Homes Dome tonight.

Down 106-109 with time running out in regulation, the Kings’ Luke Kendall rose to the occasion, sinking a critical three-pointer to level the scores and help send the game into overtime.

From there, the visitors were too strong, outscoring the Sixers 13-6 in the extra five-minute period to consign Adelaide to a second loss from their opening three matches.

While Kendall made an important contribution with 18 points and import EJ Rowland chipped in with 25, it was his Boomers squad teammate Mark Worthington who shone brightest for the Kings, scoring 34 points including an amazing 19 in the second quarter.

He tallied 27 points in the first half alone to lead the Kings to a sizeable 66-54 buffer at the main interval, but foul trouble would stifle his play for the rest of the night and allow the Sixers to make their inevitable charge.

A 19-9 run in the third term, fuelled by the veteran guile of Brett Maher (24 points, 11 assists), brought Adelaide back into the contest and with home side’s offence finally clicking, the Kings’ 82-77 advantage at three-quarter-time looked shaky.

The Sixers maintained the impetus into the final period and when the exciting Willie Farley came to life with successive baskets, they regained the lead for the first time since midway through the second quarter.

Adelaide continued to surge and with a raucous home crowd behind them, they extended their margin to eight, deep into the final term and still held a five-point lead with 39 seconds remaining.

However, a quick Rowland score and some late Sixer turnovers would give Kendall the chance to silence the fans and send the game into extra minutes.

It was an opportunity he wouldn’t turn down, and with the momentum now on their side, the Kings ran away in overtime to register a valuable away win.

The Kings back up again against Philips Championship new boys, the South Dragons, in Canberra on Friday night, while Adelaide face another difficult road trip against the Wildcats at Challenge Stadium, also on Friday.

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