36ers fall short to Kings in season opener

Adelaide 36ers have gone down 102-94 to Sydney Kings in the NBL25 season opener at HoopsFest in Perth on Sunday afternoon.

The 36ers fought back multiple times from double figure deficits in the first half, and a 27-19 third quarter had Adelaide take a five-point lead into the final stanza.

But the 36ers fell short in the last quarter, the Kings scoring 23 of the game’s final 34 points to take the eight-point success.

Off-season recruit Lat Mayen starred in his first game in his new colours, scoring a team-high 23 points to go with four rebounds, while DJ Vasiljevic also had 23 points.

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Montrezl Harrell made an instant impact with a 13-point, 13-rebound double-double, while Kendric Davis was everywhere, scoring 11 points, dishing eight assists and hauling in four rebounds.

The Kings knocked down their first five shots from the three-point line, Jaylen Adams (25 points, seven assists, six rebounds) scored the first eight points of the game before Sunday Dech connected from downtown in the corner.

Sydney opened a 19-3 lead early in the contest, but the 36ers fought back and started to attack the basket through Mayen and Vasiljevic.

Mayen found his offensive groove, scoring eight straight points, then Nick Marshall (10 points, four rebounds) and Jason Cadee (six points) had the scoreboard ticking over as Adelaide took a 28-27 lead into quarter time.

The Adelaide offense stagnated in the second quarter as the Kings regained control of the contest, regaining a double-digit lead.

Marshall connected another three-pointer, closely followed by a Vasiljevic triple and when the new Adelaide captain went back-to-back, the Kings lead was reduced to 46-40.

Vasiljevic connected again for his third three-pointer of the opening 20 minutes as Adelaide scored 17 of last 22 points of the second quarter, the Kings went into the main break with a 51-48 lead.

Davis started to make his mark on the game, swishing his first three-pointer, but the 36ers got into team foul trouble early in the third quarter.

Mayen continued his great first outing as a 36er, converting on a three-point play before finding Harrell for a huge slam dunk.

Trailing by six points, Adelaide went on a 12-0 run at the back end of third quarter to regain the lead for the second time in the contest.

Davis swished another triple, Marshall nearly connecting on a near half-court shot on the buzzer as the 36ers took a 75-70 lead into the final 10 minutes.

Mayen attacked the hoop to begin the fourth quarter, throwing down a big dunk, then scoring underneath before Isaac Humphries scored his first basket of the contest for an 83-78 lead.

The Kings hit three straight three-pointers to regain the lead, then a fourth to open a 92-87 advantage.

Adelaide made one final push, Dech connecting from the baseline to reduce the margin to 94-90, but the Kings had all the answers down the stretch.

The 36ers will be back in action next Saturday afternoon when Adelaide travel to Far North Queensland to battle Cairns Taipans.

 SYDNEY KINGS 102 (Adams 25, Cooks 19, Oliver 19) def ADELAIDE 36ERS 94 (Mayen 23, Vasiljevic 23, Harrell 13) at RAC Arena, Perth.

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