Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
Sydney shot the lights out early, then staved off a late scare, to defeat Perth 99-91 in their NBL Ignite Cup clash.
The Kings stormed to a 25-point lead at Perth’s RAC Arena on Wednesday night behind an astonishing first-quarter shooting display to leapfrog the Wildcats into second spot on the ladder.
Torrey Craig scored 27 points for Sydney, while fellow import Kendric Davis paired 24 points with nine assists.
Former NBA stud Brandon Knight posted 27 points for Perth, while Elijah Pepper added 17 and Dylan Windler 16.
The Kings hit an incredible 15 of their first 16 shots, including 7-of-8 three-pointers. “It was a great start to the game,” Kings coach Brian Goorjian said.
“I knew that we were going to be locked in.
“I knew we’d come with energy and I thought we moved the ball well, which created good shots for us.”
Davis, coming off his worst game in Sydney colours against Melbourne United on Sunday, racked up 16 points inside the first six minutes, launching Sydney to a 21-5 ambush.
A sole three-point miss from Jayden Stone was the Kings’ only blemish in an otherwise flawless 33-17 opening term.
After Perth reduced the gap to a manageable 39-28, Sydney went on another three-point shooting spree, as dead-eyed Makuach Maluach, Andrew Carr and Tyler Robertson piloted a 17-3 run to blow the Kings’ cushion out to 56-31.
Pepper’s three, followed by another from Cam Huefner on the halftime buzzer saw the Wildcats close the gap to 59-42.
Perth carried that momentum into the third stanza, lifting their defence and forcing the Kings to cough up possessions.
Davis was becalmed, Maluach hit foul trouble and the Wildcats went 11-of-11 from the foul line for the term.
With Knight orchestrating the revival, Perth whittled the difference down to 80-70 at three-quarter-time.
The Wildcats scored the first six points of the fourth period to slash the gap to 80-76, before Craig helped settle Sydney at both ends.
“They played really well in the first 20 minutes of the game,” Perth coach John Rillie said.
“They executed well. We weren’t disruptive, pesky enough.
“Second half we did a much better job of being disruptive and turning them over, but they made the plays when they needed to make them.”
