Kings Go 13 Straight With OT Win in the 'Gong

The Sydney Kings have flexed their championship muscles in a finals-intensity 107-102 overtime win over NSW rivals Illawarra Hawks in Wollongong on Thursday night. 

It was the 13th consecutive win for the Kings, but coming up against a Hawks team on a six-game winning run, this was a battle of the form teams in #NBL22.

It was a fast and furious, end to end shootout between the two contenders with plenty on the line. When the full-time buzzer sounded, nothing could separate them - like nothing could separate them all night. 

However, with both sides breathing heavily and a host of players down with cramp, the Kings came out the hardest in overtime with an 8-0 run to secure the win and to guarantee a finals spot.

Hawks star import Tyler Harvey turned in a season-best performance with 35 points, five rebounds and five assists. Not to be outdone, Kings sharpshooter DJ Vasiljevic had a career-best 33 points including six three-pointers.

Xavier Cooks was the glue holding the Kings together in a complete team performance. His form was exquisite, crafting a double-double of 14 points and 13 rebounds while adding six assists and three blocked shots. 

MVP candidate point guard Jaylen Adams had 17 points, six rebounds and seven assists before cramping struck him down. Jarell Martin had 21 points and six boards.

Kings coach Chase Buford was relieved to get the win in what was an incredible NBL game between two competition heavyweights.

"If you are a neutral basketball fan and didn't have fun tonight, I don't know what you are doing. That was a terrific basketball game," he said.

"Tyler Harvey played out of his skull. I am proud of the guys for battling with it, staying with it. 

"We didn't play great defence in the first half, but we kept our nose to the ground, kept working and found a way to get it done.

"It could have gone either way multiple times, I am proud of our guys being able to get it done at the end of the day."

Sam Froling also had 14 points and 13 boards for Illawarra , while Justinian Jessup (21 points, four assists) and Duop Reath (17 points, four rebounds) were strong contributors. 

Hawks coach Brian Goorjian put the loss down to two factors, giving away free throws and poor choices in clutch moments.

"Initially our thoughts are disappointment, we lost the game. I've been in the NBL a long time, out and in, and the quality of the basketball was tonight pretty high ... we're not far off the mark," Goorjian said.

"The free throw count of 34-14, most coaches would come in here and say that when they are talking about referees, I am not. Duop Reath fouled the three-point shooter twice, including at the end of the third quarter. We made a lot of irresponsibly bad fouls to put them on the line.

"I have no problem with the calls, they were the right calls. "We had possession of the ball, at home (at the end of) regulation for the last shot and we didn't get a good shot. 

"There were a lot of great shooters on the floor, it was the wrong set, the wrong shot (that Rathan-Mayes ended up taking). That's me. Lesson learned."

It was almost destiny that this game would go to overtime.

The final 90 seconds of regulation was pure theatre. Sydney led by two points when Adams was ruled to have double-dribbled - much to the disgust of coach Chase Buford.

Reath scored to level the scores, then Vasiljevic turned the ball over after a Sydney timeout. Harvey had a shot to win, but it rimmed out. 

It seemed Sydney's cards were marked when Adams was forced off the court with cramp. But the Kings were all over the offensive boards and made hay of their second chance opportunities, leading by eight with three minutes of extra time to play. 

Vasiljevic showed he had come to play early, landing two triples. Jessup responded with a three-pointer of his own and when Harvey hit a floater for six early points, the Hawks had the lead.

Buford was unimpressed with the ease the Hawks were scoring and gave his charges a good old-fashioned spray. It didn't help stop the Harvey onslaught, who hit his fourth floater in the exact same spot.

However, the Kings managed to stall the Hawks' assault when Harvey took a breather, peeling off an 8-0 run - including triples to Adams and Makur Maker - to take a four-point lead but the Hawks were able to lead 24-23 by quarter-time.

The battle of the point guards was worth the price of admission alone, as Harvey found the bottom of the basket with ease while Adams surged toward a triple-double stat line. 

Jessup was coming up showtime with his long-range game in a furious contest but once again the scores were all tied up at half-time.

Sydney seemed the most likely to lift their defence, opening up a five-point advantage that was the biggest either team had been in front. But the Hawks matched them with solid work on the offensive boards and were back to within a point in short time.

Then the Kings surged again, Cooks leading the rally and Martin putting the icing on the cake as Sydney streaked out to an eight-point lead. In the blink of an eye, though, Harvey had levelled the scores once more. 

It was almost Groundhog Day at times. Harvey, three. Ian Clark, three. Scores tied. A late lapse from the Hawks sent the Kings to the free-throw line and the visitors had a slender 78-75 lead at the final break.

Eventually, with just 1:20 left on the clock, the scores were still locked up at 92-92. Overtime seemed inevitable and both sides were forced to find five more minutes. The Kings exploded out of the blocks with an 8-0 run that proved the difference.

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL ROUND 20

ILLAWARRA HAWKS 102 (Harvey 35, Jessup 21, Reath 17) 

SYDNEY KINGS 107 (Vasiljevic 33, Martin 21, Clark 17, Adams 17) 

BOX SCORE