United silence critics in style with win against Kings
Entering today second-to-last on the ladder with a 3-5 record, Melbourne United, off the back of a close loss in Perth, arrived at John Cain Arena knowing that this game was a must-win. Of course, when you're playing the reigning NBL champion Sydney Kings, who recently had two dominant wins against opposition that United had lost to in Perth and Illawarra, leaving with a win is easier said than done.
Nevertheless, Jacob Chance's men gave it a valiant effort in the first quarter. As he's done all season, Josh Oduro stepped up for United when called upon, with an equal game-high nine points at quarter-time. Andrew Carr also had nine points in the first quarter, and will have thought he did enough for Sydney to lead at the first intermission, making a free throw late on to put the Kings ahead.
Cole Anthony, however, had other ideas, scoring a buzzer-beater to give United a 32-31 lead at quarter-time, while simultaneously sending John Cain Arena into a frenzy. If anyone looked at the standings and thought the Kings were going to cruise to a victory, they clearly had another thing coming.
The second quarter remained just as competitive, but it would once again be Melbourne United who held the lead at its conclusion. Carrying the momentum of his buzzer-beater, Cole Anthony had officially taken over the game, with seventeen points at half-time as Melbourne led 56-51.
For all the hype around Anthony's matchup against Kendric Davis, it was the newcomer who was winning their duel at half-time. Davis recorded eight points, two assists and two rebounds in the first half, but was shooting an underwhelming 25% from the field, well below his season average of 42%.
By the third quarter, it was clear to anyone watching that Melbourne United were in control of the game. The Kings defense continued to have no answer for Cole Anthony and Josh Oduro, while Luke Travers also contributed with multiple baskets in the third quarter. With Melbourne firing on all cylinders, Sydney trailed 77-64 at the end of the third quarter.
To the disappointment of Brian Goorjian, it wouldn't get any better in the fourth quarter for the Kings. With United needing a win to turn their season around, they did exactly that, prevailng 105-95. There was even a moment of applause for a crowd favourite and long-time servant of United towards the end, with Shea Ili making two free throws late on. After making the first, he jumped to second all-time in scoring for Melbourne United.
It would have been significantly worse for the Kings without Torrey Craig and Andrew Carr, who both recorded double-doubles, but the combination of Cole Anthony and Josh Oduro was ultimately too strong. Anthony was the game's top scorer with thirty points, while Oduro trailed right behind him with 27.
Following the game, Brian Goorjian admitted that, despite the ladder, he knew that Melbourne United would be no pushover.
"I knew this was going to be a tough one. They lost a one-pointer, they've got a ton of talent. It's a home game, it's a must game. We talked a lot about it. And we knew what they were gonna do and they did it."
Meanwhile, Joe Ingles was thrilled with how he and his teammates responded after back-to-back losses.
"I think we've done a lot of good over this early part of the year and obviously it hasn't all showed up in results, but we've done a lot of good things. We've been close. Obviously three or four games, (were decided by) last possessions and stuff like that. We've been pretty consistent with what we've been working on, what we've been talking about, how we've been talking about it. And I think if you do that for a long period of time, the results are going to kind of fall that way."
United will now prepare to hit the road, flying to Cairns to play the Taipans next Saturday, while the Kings look to return to winning ways in Perth against the Wildcats next Wednesday.
