Sydney Kings outlast NZ Breakers in decider to claim back-to-back NBL championships

At Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney: Sydney Kings 77 (Derrick Walton Jr 21, Xavier Cooks 19, Angus Glover 12, Kouat Noi 11), NZ Breakers 69 (Barry Brown Jr 22, Jarrell Brantley 16, Will McDowell-White 12). 1Q: 11-22; HT: 35-36; 3Q: 56-56. Sydney win championship series 3-2.

It was a game too far, and certainly a final quarter too far, for the New Zealand Breakers in Sydney on Wednesday night as they were denied a fifth NBL championship by a Kings team who found the winning formula when it mattered most.

The Kings triumphed in this game-five grand final decider, in front of an NBL record crowdof 18,149 at their Qudos Bank Arena stronghold, because they held their nerve when it mattered most, going on a 13-0 run over the back half of the final term to establish a game-winning break after the scores had been locked (56-56) at the final break.

The Breakers had been well in it as the game entered its final stanza, leading by seven (66-59) with 7 minutes remaining on a Dererk Pardon dunk. But from there Mody Maor’s shortened rotation hit the wall, going scoreless for five and a-half minutes as the Kings rattled off those 13 straight points to take a game-winning 73-66 advantage that they held to the finish.

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The deserved victory, behind 21 points from star point guard Derrick Walton Jr and 19 points and 11 rebounds from the NBA-bound Xavier Cooks, made it back-to-back championships for the Kings, and five titles all told. They also got a courageous 12 points off the bench from Angus Glover who shook off a sternum injury to make some big plays down the stretch.

The Breakers got 22 points from Barry Brown, on 8-of-18 shooting, 16 points and 4 rebounds from Jarrell Brantley and 12 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists from Will McDowell-White, but went just 6 of 23 from deep and shot just 40% (25 of 61) from the floor overall.

Pardon finished with 9 points and 9 baords in a busy display and Izayah Le’afa chipped in 8 points for the Breakers who just could not find the basket when it mattered with the game on the line.

After a tempestuous lead-in, that included Kings coach, and serial whinger, Chase Buford once again accusing the Breakers of playing too rough, and suggesting the Kiwi club got a leg up from the officiating to win game four at Spark on Sunday – for which he was fined A$3500 – it was almost a relief to get hoops again and get this thing decided on the court, and not on social media, or in ill-tempered press conferences.

The Breakers had made the perfect start in front of the capacity crowd at Qudos – smashing the NBL record for attendance over a five-game series – making 8 of 12 first-quarter shots to work out to a double-digit lead (22-11) by the first break, behind 8 opening-term points from Brown and 5 points, 3 boards and a pair of assists froom McDowell-White.

But the Kings roared back in the second term behind 10 points (all in the quarter) from Cooks and 7 from Walton as the home side won the spell 24-14 and kept the Kiwi club to just 5 of 15 shooting. The Breakers got 11 first-half points from Brantley and 9 from McDowell-White but had some momentum to regain after the halftime break with just a one-point (36-35) lead.

It stayed tight in the third, with the teams trading buckets and the scores staying tight throughout, with Cooks continuing to build his score (to 16 points) but also picking up his fourth foul and Le’afa and Brown keeping things ticking over for the visitors. It was no surprise whatsoever to see the scores locked at 56-56 at the final break.

Just hours before tipoff, Breakers owner Matt Walsh was sanctioned and fined $1500 for breaching the NBL code of conduct for a tweet he made about the officiating during game three of the championship series. The club also received a formal warning over a tweet from its account about the refereeing in the same game.