THEY fell well short of the finals but the Sydney Kings finished the season as one of the NBL’s hottest teams with a 101-86 come-from-behind win over the New Zealand Breakers yesterday.
Led by sharpshooting guard Jason Cadee’s game-high 30 points, Sydney closed the regular season with wins in six of their final seven games to finish with an 11-17 record and avoid the wooden spoon.
The Breakers led for most of the game at Qudos Bank Arena before the resurgent Kings tied it up at 68-all at three-quarter time.
Cadee then took over, giving his team its first lead of the night with a crowd-pleasing three-point bomb and following with two more long-range daggers from which the undermanned visitors never really recovered.
He hit five threes in the period and six for the game, while Todd Blanchfield and Jerome Randle combined for 37 of Sydney’s points.
Retiring Kings forward Tommy Garlepp had six points, three rebounds and three assists in his final game in the NBL.
The Kings avoided the wooden spoon despite looking likely to finish last for most of the season.
The late resurgence, coinciding with the return of captain Kevin Lisch from injury, will give fans hope for next season. Coach Andrew Gaze will be looking to keep the core group together, including Lisch, Boomers swingman Brad Newley, star import guard Randle and Cadee.
The Breakers had excuses last night. They were missing key players Edgar Sosa, Kirk Penney and Alex Pledger.
Aalthough the Kings had to play without young centre Isaac Humphries, who was absent from Sydney’s final two games of the season with a nasty eye injury.
Coach Paul Henare hopes the experienced trio will return for game one of the best of three semi-final series.
The Kings trailed by as much as 10 points in the second quarter but battled back to trail 48-42 at half-time.
Led by Blanchfield’s hot shooting, the Kings continued to chip away, drawing level at 68-all at three-quarter time.
Sydney dominated the final period, running away with it and sending the Breakers to their second straight loss.
