Kings Survive United Fightback to Claim Home Opener

Sydney Kings fans got a taste of the rebuilt side's new style in their 79-74 win over Melbourne United at Qudos Bank Arena on Sunday, but not before being put through the agony of a massive scare.

Taking to #NBL22 with their fourth coach in as many years, Sydney quickly established their new identity under Chase Buford as a hard-running, up-tempo side that will be hard to match this season. 

In contrast, defending champions Melbourne showed their new roster is made of stern stuff after almost running down a 21-point deficit despite the absence of Chris Goulding, Dave Barlow and Jack White.

When Sydney turned on the jets in the second quarter it looked like nothing could stop them, burning their way out to a 21-point advantage in the third quarter. 

But Melbourne came back hard and if not for some poor execution at critical moments - to be expected in Round 1 - they could have mowed down their rivals.

In the end, it came down to a single possession and a vital Shea Ili attempt at a triple that would have forced overtime but fell agonisingly short.

Buford predicted that Xavier Cooks would be the deciding factor and the Boomers forward responded with 10 points, eight rebounds and six assists.

New import Jaylen Adams showed he will be a force to be reckoned with, draining 15 points to go along with nine rebounds and three assists. Fellow imports Jarell Martin (12 points, eight rebounds, three assists) and RJ Hunter (12 points, six rebounds) rounded out a solid team performance.

Buford was pleased to get his first win with the Kings after moving over from the G-League.

"It wasn't the prettiest offensive game by any stretch," he said.

"I was pleased with the way the guys came out and competed. We guarded from the opening tip, rebounded well and while it wasn't what we wanted to do in offence, we will get better.

"I was proud of the guys who found a way to get it done down the stretch."

Jaylen Adams put the late lapse down to some nerves in their first hitout of the season.

"I think it was first game jitters, first game mistakes," he said.

"But I think it was overall a good game. We fought, it was ugly but sometimes you have to ugly it up."

All eyes were on NBA championship winner and Boomers stalwart Matthew Dellavedova and he was the general United need at times, with nine points and six assists on his stat sheet.

Jo Lual-Acuil carried his pre-season form into the game with 12 points, seven rebounds and two assists while Caleb Agada had 11 points and four rebounds off the bench.

United coach Dean Vickerman said he expected a disjointed performance with an almost total roster overhaul, but lamented key lapses that cost them the game.

"Obviously we came in with three guys from last year's team, so we knew at moments there was going to be some inconsistencies with our play," he said.

"I thought we saw that in two patches, in the second quarter and certainly in the third quarter. We got really stagnant offensively and they were good at the same time.

"In saying that, we knew there was going to be some inconsistencies and when we injected some young players into the line-up (things improved).

"I thought David Okwera (10 points, three rebounds) in his first game in the NBL was outstanding and Zac Triplett had a nice little impact that got us back in the game. I thought our defence in the fourth quarter was really solid and gave us a chance to tie it up in the end."

Both sides started their NBL campaign undermanned, with Melbourne missing sharpshooter Goulding (hamstring), veteran Barlow (back) and White (Achilles) while Sydney was missing the electric DJ Vasiljevic (Achilles) and Jordan Hunter (finger). 

There was significance in the first buckets for both sides. Brad Newley opened the scoring in his first match for Melbourne playing against his old side that did not re-sign him. Angus Glover replied for the Kings, the young star-in-the-making on the comeback trail from his third knee reconstruction.

At one point Melbourne led by six points, but a five-point tear from Sydney kept the visitors honest. It was far from an offensive masterclass as both sides worked to build their new combinations, United taking a 20-17 edge into the first break.

Former NBA first-round draft selection RJ Hunter, who missed the NBL Blitz with a groin injury, showed his potential as he exploded out of the break with a rapid five-point outburst that helped steer Sydney to the front for the first time. 

Earlier, Dellavedova showed he hasn't lost his silky skills with a slick no-look cut to Lual-Acuil. He took it upon himself in the second quarter with back-to-back buckets including a reverse layup in traffic.

As half-time loomed, Sydney put the foot to the floor and accelerated through triples to Makur Maker and Jaylen Adams to push their lead out to nine. 

Maker then put the icing on the cake with a huge dunk that had the home crowd in raptures with the Kings up 39-30 at the half after an explosive 22-10 second quarter.

Cooks continued his rampage as he elevated early in the third quarter to push the lead out to 12 and suddenly United was running out of answers. 

Returning import Jarell Martin decided to join the splash party with consecutive buckets of his own and the margin was 19.

United showed their class to fight back late in the term and had opportunities to slash the margin to single digits, but a late Biwali Bayles basket had the Kings in control at 64-52 heading into the final term.

United was determined to not let the scoreboard dictate terms and chipped away at the deficit - with repeated opportunities to reduce the margin to single digits. Finally, Shea Ili did precisely that with a vital triple. 

But Ili was unable to replicate the feat to push the match into overtime.

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL ROUND 1

SYDNEY KINGS 79 (Adams 15, Hunter 12, Martin 12)

MELBOURNE UNITED 74 (Lual-Acuil 12, Agada 11, Okwera 10) 

BOX SCORE