Kings belt Hawks to return to form

The Sydney Kings have emphatically snapped back to form with a 103-83 thrashing of local rivals the Illawarra Hawks in Wollongong.

The back-to-back reigning NBL champions slid to 4-3 with consecutive losses ahead of Friday's match but parlayed a 32-18 third quarter into a gaping victory and a return to the winner's circle.

"It was great. Guys stepped up," Kings coach Mahmoud Abdelfattah said.

"It starts on the defensive end, we've got to get stops consistently and I thought we did that for good stretches throughout the entire 40 minutes."

As they have in recent games, the Hawks were left to rue a period of poor shooting from the field that ultimately left them with too much work to do.

In a six-minute stretch either side of half-time, Illawarra landed only 2-of-13 field goal attempts just as the Kings were getting their eye in.

The lead ballooned from four points to 20 in this period and reached 26 late on before the Kings put their big names on ice.

"The biggest piece right now is guys not being positive when they're not a part of what's happening offensively and it kind of pours into our defence," said Hawks big man Gary Clark.

"At times we have multiple guys who aren't defensive-minded guys on the court and one little lapse and everything falls apart."

In total, Sydney hit 14 shots from downtown to Illawarra's five - just one of the statistical areas dominated by the visitors.

The Kings had six men in double figures for scoring, with Makuach Maluach (16 points, three rebounds) an unlikely hero from the bench while the game was still close.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">They asked for a cook, WE GAVE EM A CHEF?<br><br>Makuach Maluach with 13 points in 6 minutes ?<br><br>Watch <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL24?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL24</a> live on ESPN via Kayo Sports<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LetItReign?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LetItReign</a> <a href="https://t.co/U7u0PkopnH">pic.twitter.com/U7u0PkopnH</a></p>&mdash; Sydney Kings (@SydneyKings) <a href="https://twitter.com/SydneyKings/status/1720370159951708167?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 3, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

He shot all of his first six attempts from the field, including four from three-point range, and finished as equal top scorer with former MVP Jaylen Adams, who had seven assists and two steals.

"Kudos to him (Maluach)," Abdelfattah said.

"Honestly without his stretch in that first half, that kind of took the lead from two to eight, who knows where we'd be?"

In his second game back after a shoulder injury, DJ Hogg (13 points) joined Denzel Valentine as the Kings' most prolific scorer in the decisive third quarter.

Both had eight points for the period including two baskets each from long range as the Kings piled on the pain.

American import Gary Clark (23 points, seven rebounds) was once again a shining light for the Hawks but early foul trouble kept his countryman Justin Robinson (10 points, four assists) quiet until late.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Nickname: THE PROBLEM <br><br>? Watch now on ESPN via Kayo <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeRiseTogether?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeRiseTogether</a> <a href="https://t.co/wvVKOCNlEq">pic.twitter.com/wvVKOCNlEq</a></p>&mdash; Illawarra Hawks Basketball (@illawarrahawks) <a href="https://twitter.com/illawarrahawks/status/1720363608406921568?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 3, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

The Kings have now won their last eight games against their cross-town foes.

They have also retained the Adrian Hurley Cup by winning the first two of four regular-season games between the NSW rivals this season.

HUNGRY JACK’S NBL INDIGENOUS ROUND

SYDNEY KINGS 103 (Adams 16, Maluach 16, Hogg 13)

ILLAWARRA HAWKS 83 (Clark 23, Froling 13, Robinson 10, Swaka Lo Buluk 10)

BOX SCORE