Stars Fire Kings Over Hawks and Into Grand Final

The big guns of the Sydney Kings all stepped up as they fired back from a 15-point deficit to overpower the Illawarra Hawks in the second half in Game 2 of their semi-final series on Sunday to win 99-87 and advance to the Grand Final.

Sydney claimed Game 1 in Wollongong on Friday night 89-79 but Illawarra booked in second spot by winning in Qudos Bank Arena a week ago so trying to do it again in front of 9824 fans with their season on the line held no fear.

And with Tyler Harvey on his way to 16 first half points, the Hawks looked on track to force a decider back in the 'Gong when leading by 15 shortly before the half-time break.

However, the Kings just wouldn’t be denied. They scored the last five points of the half, then the first seven of the second to go on a 12-0 run. Their momentum, and confidence, continued to build the rest of the way.

With MVP Jaylen Adams on his way to 29 points, seven rebounds and three assists while shooting 4/7 from downtown, Jarell Martin stepping up for 23 points and nine boards including 3/6 from deep, and Xavier Cooks' 16 points, 11 rebounds, four blocks and three assists, it proved too much for the Hawks.

Harvey fouling out with 3:30 left proved the final blow that Illawarra couldn’t overcome. Sydney turned a two point lead with two minutes to go after a Duop Reath triple into the 12-point win.

That means the Kings are the first team into the NBL Grand Final for #NBL22 to face either Melbourne United or Tasmania JackJumpers as they chase a first championship since 2005.

Kings coach Chase Buford might have a team with superstar talent, but it's their fighting qualities and competitive nature he's most proud of.

"It's just pride in the toughness and the resiliency of our group. I mean to come in and be down 15 at one point and not hang our heads, but stick to what helped get us here, and in the second half the defence and competitiveness took over," Buford said.

"We talked about some keys for this series, one of them being 50-50 balls and rebounds. They kind of beat us up on the boards in the first especially on the offensive boards, and we turned it over 10 times. 

"In the second half we limited their offensive rebounding a little bit and we had more second chance points, and we had seven turnovers to one in the second half so we won those extra possession battles. 

"That's what we needed to do and gosh, I can't count on my hand the number of big threes, big plays that this guy next to me (Adams) hit, that Ian hit, 'Rell hit and X was making plays down the stretch. I'm just really proud of the guts of our group to find a way to get that done."

Hawks coach Brian Goorjian was a proud man for the fight his team put up, and was in a reflective mood afterwards while unsure if he would be back next season as coach.

"I wanted to make sure we represented the 'Gong like they deserve to be represented. That was my whole mindset coming in and making sure the team when they look those guys in their eyes, whether we win or lost this game, that there's respect there," Goorjian said. 

"On the other side of the coin, nothing but respect for this organisation that I was a part of years ago. Where they've taken it on the floor and off the floor, and there's admiration there for how far they have come, and the league as a whole under Larry. 

"I look at where we've come as an organsition too from where we were when I walked in two years ago, that all comes through your mind when it finishes. 

"When the game is going there was nothing but wood between my teeth and working it as hard as I could, and I really felt that the team did that too. I'm proud of them but disappointed that we couldn’t get it back there. You don't get this quality of a team that often and the enjoyment we shared."

It didn’t take long for the Kings to use the momentum of their home crowd to build a 7-2 lead including a Jarell Martin three ball and a couple of strong finishes early from Xavier Cooks. 

The Hawks soon steadied, though, and it was their point guard combination of Tyler Harvey and Xavier Rathan-Mayes who combined for 12 points on 5/8 shooting for the quarter to help the visitors lead 23-22 after one.

A late Justinian Jessup triple gave them that lead despite the eight points, five rebounds, two assists and two blocks from Cooks.

Harvey and Jessup then opened the second quarter hitting triples to put Illawarra up five, and Duop Reath was finding his groove too. He knocked down a couple of jumpers and then added one from downtown to stretch his team's lead to seven.

Rathan-Mayes pushed it to eight before Harry Froling drained a long ball and then a stunning play from Antonius Cleveland pushed it to 15. The Best Defensive Player blocked a Shaun Bruce to three-point attempt, gathered it and then took it up the other end for a strong finish.

Sydney did pull back within 10 by half-time, though, thanks to the last five points of the opening half.

The Kings then kept that momentum going with the opening seven points of the third quarter with five of those courtesy of Martin.

The Hawks responded with five points from Jessup and Harvey, and then a pair of three balls from Reath to be back up double figures, but Sydney were starting to feel good.

They closed the third quarter on a 14-2 run with Adams, Martin and Ian Clark all connecting from beyond the arc to see them lead 69-67 after three.

DJ Vasiljevic stretched the Sydney lead to five to open the fourth but then the Hawks responded impressively with the next nine points to suddenly be up four.

That put the onus back on the Kings to respond and they were up for it. Martin scored inside, Adams hit an open three on the kickout from Cooks and then Clark drained a triple too for Sydney to be up five with five to play.

The Hawks were then dealt a savage blow with Harvey fouling out with 3:30 to play with the margin six, and they wouldn’t be able to overcome. The Kings had all the answers and it was party time at Qudos as they booked their place in the Grand Final.

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL FINALS – SEMI FINALS GAME 2

SYDNEY KINGS 99 (Adams 29, Martin 23, Clark 17) 

ILLAWARRA HAWKS 87 (Harvey 21, Reath 20, Rathan-Mayes 14)

Sydney wins best-of-three series 2-0 

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