Tasmania JackJumpers 82 (Adams 18 points, McIntosh 17 points 5 rebounds)
Defeated by Sydney Kings 103 (Adams 20 points 7 assists 8 rebounds, Cooks 14 points 9 rebounds 9 assists)
BOXSCORE
Match Summary
The Sydney Kings have put on a masterclass in Hobart, handing the JackJumpers a 21 point defeat on Sunday afternoon.
In what was built as the match of the round, the Kings were aiming to reclaim 2nd spot and 10 straight wins. While the JackJumpers had won six of its last seven, and needing to keep winning to keep its faint playoff hopes alive.
But it was all one-way traffic from beginning to end for the Kings who dominated offensively to win 103-83. Sydney finished the game shooting 60% from the field, including 44 points inside the paint.
For the JackJumpers, early shooting woes and an overreliance from the three point line saw them fall behind 17-7. The double figure lead remained rest of the game as Tasmania struggled to make any significant inroads on the scoreboard.
The Kings were dominating the JackJumpers in transition early, consistently turning defensive rebounds into open layups on the break. They also stepped up their defensive, making every possession a grind for Tasmania who couldn’t find any consistency. They were left unable to penetrate inside, and forced into low percentage shots late in the shot clock.
Kings import Jaylen Adams showed his MVP credentials as he effortlessly carved up the JackJumpers defense to score or provide for his team mates. He played a key role in seven kings players scoring in the first quarter and take a 30-14 lead.
The second quarter saw some fight from Tasmania, Sam McDaniel scored 7 straight points to bring the lead back to 13. However Adams was having none of this Tassie comeback, scoring back to back threes, finishing with 15 first half points. Sydney held a dominant 57-29 lead at the half, in what was one of the most spectaculars halves of basketball for the 2021-22 season.
🔙 to 🔙
— NBL (@NBL) April 3, 2022
Jaylen Adams just doing Jaylen Adams things.#NBL22 on @10PeachAu + @kayosports Freebies 📺 pic.twitter.com/GenSB73hks
The JackJumpers worked their way back into the game in the second half, but nowhere near enough to panic Sydney Coach Chase Buford. Who was able to utilise his full roster and provide his stars a chance of some game time rest.
For Tasmania Josh Adams top scored with 18, but was well held by the Kings defense. Unsurprisingly he wasn’t able to get the space he had on Friday, where he scored 31 Adelaide. However he battled through it and got to the line consistently. While MiKyle McIntosh was able to find some space inside in the second half,
Mikyle with the tough finish and the extra 😤
— Tasmania JackJumpers 🐜 (@JackJumpers) April 3, 2022
Live now on @10peachau/ @espnausnz/ @kayosports pic.twitter.com/BJIzNIbPi0
The final 20 point margin somewhat flattered the JackJumpers, whose coach Scott Roth stated after the game that they were were simply unable to match it with one of the best NBL teams going around.
“Congratulations to them, they’ve obviously got a dynamite team and are super talented across the board,” Roth said.
“They played obviously very well, we just were never really in the game and statistically, they smashed us in just about every category. They did a hell of a job and as I told these guys after the game, this doesn’t define our season by any means.
“It’s just one of the games that we’ll end up playing and we’ve got four more to go. We just move on and continue to build.”
Despite the loss, the JackJumpers playoff dream isn’t quite over…..yet. They have 4 games remaining, and will need plenty of wins and a few results to fall their way if they wanted some playoff action in their debut season.
They remain in 5th position and finish the season with Cairns (home), New Zealand (away), SE Melbourne (away) and Melbourne (home).
Key Takeaways from the game
Live and die by the three point line
Tasmania’s overreliance from the 3 point line was exposed against the Kings. Struggling to get much going inside they took 40 of its 77 field goals from outside the arc.
This included 4/20 in the first half, which was a big factor in a 28 point half time deficit.
Losing the battle of the boards
After outmuscling their taller opponents in recent weeks, it was Sydney who won the rebound count 45-33. But a lot of this came down to Tasmania missing 50 shots for the game (27/77 FG) compared to Sydney’s 22 missed shots (34/56 FG).
Home record takes a hit
With today’s loss the JackJumpers home record moves to 6-6. However, after three straight road wins their record outside of Tasmania is 7-5.
