36ers fall to rampant Kings on road

Sydney Kings have led from wire-to-wire to defeat Adelaide 36ers 97-78 at Qudos Bank Arena on Sunday afternoon.

The Kings, led by Xavier Cooks and Derrick Walton Jnr, showed why they are one of the NBL23 championship threats with the 19-point success.

Walton Jnr had 16 points while also dishing a game-high 11 assists as the Kings dominated the paint through Cooks, who had 15 points and six rebounds, and Tim Soares added a season-high 18 points.

The 36ers, coming off a come-from-behind 78-75 win against Cairns Taipans at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre on Friday night, missed their first four field goal attempts as the home side had a quick 7-0 run to start the game.

Antonius Cleveland sparked Adelaide as the 36ers responded cut the lead to 11-10 but the Kings roared late in the opening quarter to take a 24-17 lead at the first break.  

Sydney again built their lead to double figures (34-24) through import point guard Derrick Walton Jnr as Adelaide struggled to get their offensive flow going.

Daniel Johnson singlehandedly kept the 36ers in the contest, the seven-time club MVP scoring 16 first half points.

The Kings found the basket a lot easier, shooting 54 per cent from the field in first 20 minutes of play as the home side attacked the hoop and knocked down their open looks.

Robert Franks connected on a much-needed three-pointer as the second quarter ended as the Kings took a 48-38 lead into the main interval.

Franks and Johnson kept their scoring form after the main break, but Walton Jnr continued to do what he wanted as the Kings built their biggest lead of the match at 63-48.

Xavier Cooks took over the contest, dominating the paint at both ends of the floor as Adelaide tried their best to stay in the contest.

The 36ers had a real chance to cut the Kings margin in the final stages of the third quarter, but couldn’t capitalise on a number of opportunities.

Sydney made Adelaide pay, back-to-back three-pointers from Shaun Bruce and DJ Vasiljevic handing the Kings a game-high 75-60 lead with 10 minutes to play.

Adelaide, who missed the intensity and spark of Anthony Drmic for a second straight game with a back injury, gave one last push in the final quarter as Cleveland found his range from long range, but the Kings had all the answers.

Johnson finished with 21 points and five rebounds, Franks added 16 points with five rebounds, Cleveland had 12 points and six rebounds, while Kai Sotto had some spark from the bench with 13 points.

Adelaide will now look to rebound this Friday night at the Entertainment Centre against arch-rival Perth Wildcats.

SYDNEY KINGS 97 (Soares 18, Walton Jnr 16, Cooks 15) def ADELAIDE 36ERS 78 (Johnson 21, Franks 16, Sotto 13) at Qudos Bank Arena.

BOX SCORE