Ordinarily, when the two teams that have spent the majority of the season on the bottom of the ladder match up, it’s no big deal. However, tonight was a different scenario when the Melbourne Tigers visited the Sydney Kings at the Kingdome.
The Tigers, who have spent most of the season second-last on the ladder (before recently moving ahead of the Adelaide 36ers for third-last) and the wooden-spoon wielding Kings brought plenty of interest into this game. Both teams have shown spirited finishes to the season — the Kings’ momentum shift coming after breaking a 14-game losing streak and the Tigers’ coming after a head coach change and roster overhaul.
Sydney vs Melbourne always has that interstate rivalry, as well as strong history of big-time matchups, going all the way back to Dwayne McClain dropping numbers on Andrew Gaze and Lanard Copeland. So, this was no ordinary meeting of the bottom-feeders in the National Basketball League.
The Kings have made it their mission to upset higher-ranked teams, whilst also setting a task of getting off the bottom place on the ladder. Winning games against the likes of Melbourne (and next week’s visitor to the Kingdome: the 36ers) is paramount in that journey. Meanwhile, the Tigers came into this game with a spring in their step since the promotion of Darryl “D-Mac” McDonald to the head coaching reigns and with a very slight, mathematical chance of making the NBL post-season.
Unfortunately for the Tigers, and fortuitously for the Kings, most events early on went the home team’s way. Corey “Homicide” Williams, the Tigers star and MVP candidate, picked up his third personal foul only seven and a half minutes into the first quarter. Then big man Cam “Trigger” Tragardh came down on Trey Gilder, rolling his ankle, ruling him out most of the rest of the way. Meanwhile, on the other side of the court, the Kings could do no wrong — everyone was firing offensively, even captain Ben Knight who continued his perfection from the field most of the game.
Julian Khazzouh, clearly the Kings’ (and according to some, including Gaze, the NBL’s) most valuable player this season, showed his deft touch from all over the floor. He mixed a three-pointer into his 10/13 field goals, on his way to 28 points in his 100th NBL game. Ben Madgen, strong candidate for NBL Rookie of the Year, went 10/14 from the field and 2/3 from deep as he piled on 22 points for the Kings.
Gilder, who has been up and down at times this season, has looked increasingly comfortable as the 2010/11 campaign has wore on. Tonight he parlayed his defensive play on Homicide into more confidence at the offensive end. His poor percentage (5/13 field goals) belied a performance where his jump shots looked much more comfortable and less “over-thought” than they have been at times. He is becoming more and more valuable at both ends of the court as the season winds down.
Knight, who has been on a phenomenal shooting tear of late (dating back to the Sunshine Swing road trip of last weekend), went a long way without missing a shot. Ultimately he shot 9/11 from the field, making jumpers from the top of the key over and over. He shared a smile with teammates when he finally did miss a shot.
Patrick Sanders had an uncharacteristically quiet game — primarily due to the prominence of Madgen and Gilder at the swingmen positions. Mark “Sparky” Dickel had a welcome return at the point, providing 8 assists as the clear floor general for the team, notwithstanding that he came off the bench.
As usual, the Kingdome played host to the regular array of celebrities, including Home and Away stars, NRL rugby league players and the like, superseded by Miss Universe Australia 2009, Rachael Finch (above).
The Kings took out the game 95-86 and Tigers coach D-Mac did not look happy at all. Daryl Corletto was the best for the Tigers with 24 points, including four from deep. Homicide went 9/16 from the field for 22 points, to go along with 6 assists. He did turn the ball over on 5 occasions and primarily missed his shots on jumpers from mid-range. The other impact player for the Tigers was Lucas “Waxy” Walker, who was all over the court in his neon green shoes, contributing 11 points and 8 rebounds in 28 minutes of action.
