- Joined
- May 24, 2002
- Posts
- 2,092
- Reaction score
- 42
- Location
- Melbourne
- AFL Club
- North Melbourne
- Other Teams
- Kangas/Lakers/Mavs
Sydney Kings do an essendon.
The Sydney Kings have produced their biggest ever comeback from a half-time deficit to defeat the Brisbane Bullets 104-100 in game one of their best-of-three NBL Semi Final series at the Sydney Entertainment Centre on Saturday.
After trailing by as many as 26 points during the match the home side rallied in the second half to put them within one win of a spot in the Grand Final series.
Sydney's 23-point half-time comeback is the greatest in the club's history, eclipsing the 17-point deficit they erased against the Tigers back in October 1999.
When the Bullets’ Michael Hill shot a three-pointer to open the final quarter, the visitors led by 18 but the defending champions wouldn’t lay down and an 8-0 run got the Kings to within 10 points with eight minutes remaining.
Back-to-back three pointers from Ebi Ere and Luke Martin got the Kings to within four with five minutes remaining but Derek Rucker answered with a triple of his own to extend the lead back out to 98-91.
Sydney could not be denied and when Ere made a jump shot with 2:47 left the Kings were down by just one point. A foul off the ball on Bobby Brannen gave Ere two free throws and he made one to tie the scores with two minutes left.
A free throw to Rucker gave the Bullets the lead back but Ere nailed a three-pointer from the corner to give the Kings the lead 101-99 with 1:30 left.
Goorjian said the support from the fans was vital to the win with over 6000 people on their feet in the final stages.
“We showed something tonight that the city should really be proud of,” said Goorjian who went into the crowd after the match to personally thank the fans for their support.
Brisbane coach Joey Wright was happy with the way his team started the game but was disappointed they couldn’t continue on.
“It seemed like we were a bit afraid in the second half. Instead of trying to win the ball game we started to think about not losing it,” said Wright.
Brisbane got away to an early lead with their three-point shooting proving the difference in the opening term. At one stage the Bullets hit three triples in a row to open up a 30-13 lead.
Brisbane hit seven shots from outside the arc in the opening term with Ben Castle leading the way with four-from-four on his way to 14 points for the first period as the visitors lead the way 37-21.
The second term saw the Brisbane offensive juggernaut continue and they opened up a 25-point lead at one stage before going into the half-time break ahead 68-45.
Sydney came out and made their move in the third term and a 9-0 run cut the deficit back to 17 halfway through the period.
Brisbane steadied with back-to-back baskets but the Kings then reeled off another run and when Bradley Sheridan made a lay up with just under three minutes left in the term, the lead had been slashed to just eight points.
The visitors once again remained composed and Stephen Black hit a long bomb on the buzzer to send the Bullets into the final break ahead 89-74.
Kings 104 Bullets 100. Nice little comeback from as much as 26. Must almost be sure things for the granny now, what a psychological blow for the bullets going into game 2.
The Sydney Kings have produced their biggest ever comeback from a half-time deficit to defeat the Brisbane Bullets 104-100 in game one of their best-of-three NBL Semi Final series at the Sydney Entertainment Centre on Saturday.
After trailing by as many as 26 points during the match the home side rallied in the second half to put them within one win of a spot in the Grand Final series.
Sydney's 23-point half-time comeback is the greatest in the club's history, eclipsing the 17-point deficit they erased against the Tigers back in October 1999.
When the Bullets’ Michael Hill shot a three-pointer to open the final quarter, the visitors led by 18 but the defending champions wouldn’t lay down and an 8-0 run got the Kings to within 10 points with eight minutes remaining.
Back-to-back three pointers from Ebi Ere and Luke Martin got the Kings to within four with five minutes remaining but Derek Rucker answered with a triple of his own to extend the lead back out to 98-91.
Sydney could not be denied and when Ere made a jump shot with 2:47 left the Kings were down by just one point. A foul off the ball on Bobby Brannen gave Ere two free throws and he made one to tie the scores with two minutes left.
A free throw to Rucker gave the Bullets the lead back but Ere nailed a three-pointer from the corner to give the Kings the lead 101-99 with 1:30 left.
Goorjian said the support from the fans was vital to the win with over 6000 people on their feet in the final stages.
“We showed something tonight that the city should really be proud of,” said Goorjian who went into the crowd after the match to personally thank the fans for their support.
Brisbane coach Joey Wright was happy with the way his team started the game but was disappointed they couldn’t continue on.
“It seemed like we were a bit afraid in the second half. Instead of trying to win the ball game we started to think about not losing it,” said Wright.
Brisbane got away to an early lead with their three-point shooting proving the difference in the opening term. At one stage the Bullets hit three triples in a row to open up a 30-13 lead.
Brisbane hit seven shots from outside the arc in the opening term with Ben Castle leading the way with four-from-four on his way to 14 points for the first period as the visitors lead the way 37-21.
The second term saw the Brisbane offensive juggernaut continue and they opened up a 25-point lead at one stage before going into the half-time break ahead 68-45.
Sydney came out and made their move in the third term and a 9-0 run cut the deficit back to 17 halfway through the period.
Brisbane steadied with back-to-back baskets but the Kings then reeled off another run and when Bradley Sheridan made a lay up with just under three minutes left in the term, the lead had been slashed to just eight points.
The visitors once again remained composed and Stephen Black hit a long bomb on the buzzer to send the Bullets into the final break ahead 89-74.
Kings 104 Bullets 100. Nice little comeback from as much as 26. Must almost be sure things for the granny now, what a psychological blow for the bullets going into game 2.
