3 minute read

The Sydney Kings have come from five points down at three-quarter time to post a 102-94 win over Adelaide at Perth's RAC Arena.

The new Brian Goorjian era at Sydney has started in chaotic fashion, with the Kings twice coughing up gaping leads before fighting back themselves in a 102-94 win over the Adelaide 36ers.

Sydney rocked up to HoopsFest in Perth as the league's hot title favourites and built a 16-point margin in the opening four minutes of Sunday's match at RAC Arena.

But Adelaide, inspired by new import Montrezl Harrell and former Kings guard Dejan Vasiljevic, turned the tables to take a five-point buffer into the final quarter.

That's when Sydney turned up the heat yet again, with Alex Toohey - restricted to five points in the opening three quarters - bursting to life with 10 points in the final term to help lift his team to victory.

Bul Kuol, who only had three points to his name at three-quarter-time, nailed two important triples as the Kings outscored their opponents 32-19.

Sydney import Jaylen Adams finished with a game-high 25 points, while Cam Oliver (19 points) and Xavier Cooks (19 points, 13 rebounds) were also crucial.

Sydney boast incredible depth in their squad, but it was the starting five - including Kuol, Adams, Cooks and Toohey - that got the job done against the 36ers.

"Tonight, when it got nasty, I found five guys that battled," Goorjian said.

"I thought that group of five that started played a great game all the way through.

"That five got us the lead, and then in the fourth quarter, I virtually didn't sub. I just sat with it and grinded it out to get the win."

For Adelaide, Vasiljevic and Lat Mayen scored 19 points apiece, while Harrell finished with 13 points and 12 rebounds.

Harrell received a controversial warning in the third quarter for inciting the crowd after celebrating the sinking of a free throw.

The warning was later rescinded.

Experts spent the whole pre-season talking about why the Kings deserve to be title favourites, and it took Goorjian's men just four minutes to show why.

In the hottest of hot starts, Sydney raced to a 19-3 lead inside four minutes to stun the 36ers.

Adams scored the first eight points of the match to showcase his immense talent.

But just as crazy was Adelaide's comeback, with the 36ers taking a 28-27 lead into quarter-time after Mayen caught fire with nine points and Jason Cadee added six.

The second quarter was eerily similar.

The Kings went to a 46-31 lead before Adelaide, powered by three triples from Vasiljevic, reduced the margin to three points by half-time.

Harrell had a major influence in the third quarter, scoring six points, slamming in a big dunk, and pulling off a superb block on Cooks.

After slapping away Cooks' shot, a pumped-up Harrell went to the nearest TV camera to celebrate.

"He's a heck of a competitor," Adelaide coach Mike Wells said.

"He knows how to play, and he's going to get better and better.

"He's an entertainer. I think that he likes to talk."

Harrell's energy helped lift Adelaide to a 75-70 lead by three-quarter time, with the 4168-strong crowd getting behind the 2020 NBA Sixth Man of the Year.

But it was all Sydney in the final term as Kuol and Toohey surged, handing Goorjian victory in his celebrated return to the Kings.