Kings fire late to beat Breakers

The New Zealand Breakers did appear to have the game in their keeping for three quarters but couldn't close the door on the Sydney Kings who finished strongly for the 79-72 win at Qudos Bank Arena.

The Kings trailed at every change and were unconvincing for long patches before finishing strongly with a 27-18 final quarter for the seven-point win in what is their last home game now until December 17.

With centre Tim Soares under the weather, the Kings went small for a lot of the game with Xavier Cooks, Kouat Noi and Jaylin Galloway holding down the frontcourt, and it ended up paying dividends.

Cooks starred once again with the former MVP finishing with 21 points, 14 rebounds and four assists despite also having six turnovers while Noi shot just 3/14 from the field but had 12 points and was important hitting all four of his foul shots.

Galloway's numbers might not jump off the page with five points, three steals, two rebounds and two assists, but the Kings were +11 in his 28 minutes.

Kendric Davis had a brilliant finish to the game with offensive and defensive plays with the electric guard delivering 21 points, six assists and four rebounds with 4/8 three-point shooting for Sydney.

Sydney edged in front 72-70 inside the last two minutes before suffocating New Zealand down the stretch.

Cooks' dunk made it 74-70, before Sam Mennenga replied by bobbling in a tough deuce to make it 74-72.

Davis hit three free throws in the last 20 seconds, Izayah Le'Afa missed a late three, and Mennenga committed an over-and-back turnover with 3.7 seconds left, the error-riddled visitors' 21st for the game.

Parker Jackson-Cartwright once again did all he could for the Breakers with 23 points, seven assists and 4/9 three-point shooting with Mennenga ending up with 15 points and five rebounds, Next Star Karim Lopez eight points and eight boards, and Rob Baker II nine points, three rebounds and two steals.

Izaiah Brockington had been in season-best form coming into the game but the import guard struggled for eight points on 3/13 shooting.

Sydney were way off target early, hitting just 4/18 from the field in the opening term to New Zealand's 11/19 as the Breakers held sway 25-17.

The visitors' advantage grew to 30-17 early in the second before the hosts fought back, drawing level at 37 on Davis' pull-up three.

Jackson-Cartwright responded with a step back triple of his own, helping the Breakers to a 41-39 half-time edge before commanding the third stanza.

The lightning quick Breakers guard peeled off his side's first seven points of the term and the last two from the free-throw line with 1.4 seconds remaining to make it 54-52, after he picked Cooks' pocket - the profligate Kings' eighth turnover for the quarter.

Sydney's Bul Koul exited the game with his fifth foul midway through the fourth - and was fortunate to not receive a technical for dissent.

But even without their defensive enforcer, the Kings were able to make their match-defining charge in the dying minutes.

Both teams are now about to spend plenty of time on the road with the Kings having five straight away from Sydney beginning next Sunday in Wollongong against the Illawarra Hawks.

The Breakers have just played their third of 11 of 12 games until January outside of Auckland and their next assignments are on the Gold Coast to the Brisbane Bullets on Wednesday and then in Perth on Saturday.

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL SEASON 2025/26

SYDNEY KINGS 79 (Cooks 21, Davis 21, Noi 12)

NEW ZEALAND BREAKERS 72 (Jackson-Cartwright 23, Mennenga 15, Baker II 9)

BOX SCORE