Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
Sydney have defied exhaustion from a brutal 48-hour road swing to climb to the top of the NBL ladder, bravely wearing Tasmania down 71-68 in a war of attrition.
After fighting gamely, the Kings looked out of breath when they trailed by seven inside the last three minutes at Launceston’s Silverdome on Friday night, before summoning a late burst.
Successive three-pointers from Makuach Maluach gave Sydney the lead inside the last 90 seconds, which they stretched to 69-66 in the dying stages.
JackJumper Kody Stattman tipped in a missed Taran Armstrong three, before Tyler Robertson hit two foul shots for Sydney with 4.1 seconds left.
Armstrong was fouled, with Tasmania needing a three to tie. He missed the first free throw, then deliberately threw the second one illegally straight into the backboard hoping for an offensive rebound and three-pointer, only to be whistled for a violation.
Kendric Davis paired 20 points with nine assists for the Kings, while Dakota Mathias had 20 for the injury-plagued Jackies, whose defeat was soured by import David Johnson exiting in the second quarter with a calf injury, and centre Ben Gold dealing with a foot issue.
Both are expected to be sidelined for an extended period.
After starting the round by taking the huge scalp of the Wildcats in Perth on Wednesday, Sydney’s players got up at 4.15 on Thursday morning to fly to Launceston via Melbourne, making this one of the club’s finest triumphs.
“Nothing was easy – no layups, no transition baskets, no uncontested shots,” Sydney coach Brian Goorjian said.
“We didn’t look like winning the game, but we stayed in the game and gave ourselves a chance.
“In the last five minutes of the game we held them close to scoreless, and that kept us alive.”
The Kings, predictably, were sluggish out of the blocks, conceding the first six points and trailing 10- 3 early.
Davis and Xavier Cooks jolted their team into action, Sydney drawing level at 19-all by quarter-time, then moving ahead 37-31 at halftime, Tasmania hitting 2-of-14 in the second period.
The JackJumpers dominated the boards to move ahead 55-50 at three-quarter-time and looked to have the contest in their hands, before the Kings willed themselves across the line.
“(It was) two teams battling toe-to-toe,” Tasmania coach Scott Roth said.
“It was just a slogfest, back and forth.
“We’re down some players and it was a really good effort by the guys who tried to stay out there as long as they could.”
