Buford: "We Shot Ourselves in the Foot"

Sydney Kings coach Chase Buford says his team let themselves down defensively in a seven-point loss to Perth on Friday night.

It was a rare lapse from the Kings that allowed a 17-0 run in enemy territory, as the Wildcats upset the league-leaders.

“We shot ourselves in the foot a little bit,” Buford said after the game.

“I’m proud of the guys for fighting back, but from our perspective it was not a well-played defensive game to our principles at all. It felt like we were not us tonight, defensively.”

In one of the best games of the season so far, Perth scored 35 final quarter points to seal victory. 

But even though they weren’t at their best, the Kings were never out of it. 

“We fought our way back and were able to take the lead … that’s now 23 games this year we’ve had a lead in the final quarter, that’s every single one, and we’ve lost six. We’ve got to better about that,” Buford said. 

“I don’t know if ever took the lead again (after the Wildcats' run), but I think we got within a point or two and had our chances, missed layups, turned it over … things like that.

“Credit to Perth – they played super-well offensively. They shot the lights out, shared it well, shot over hands sometimes … all the big ones they needed to make, they made.” 

Buford said Sydney would take plenty from the loss, with finals only a few weeks away and an opportunity to atone against the Wildcats just around the corner. 

“It’s probably good for us to go through a game like that, where we’ll have a tonne of learning opportunities, especially on defence,” he added. 

“We play them here in a couple of weeks and we need to clean a couple of things up – we just need to re-focus and now go focus on Sunday.”

The Kings had strong contributions from Dejan Vasiljevic (26 points) and Xavier Cooks (15, nine rebounds, eight assists), while Angus Glover had some valuable minutes off the bench (14 points). 

With every game now coming with finals repercussions, Sydney will need to bounce back quickly against the Breakers at Qudos Bank Arena. 

The Kings have clinched a spot in the top six, but will be desperate to keep a stranglehold on top spot and a guaranteed play-off game.