Reigning champs stung on the road by the JackJumpers

Led by Milton Doyle’s 21 points, the Tasmania JackJumpers have defeated the defending champs the Sydney Kings 80-72 for their first win of NBL24.

In front of yet another sell out crowd in Hobart, the JackJumpers took control of the game late in the second half through their trademark defence. They constantly disrupted the Kings offence, as the struggled to find ways to penetrate and put points on the board.

“i’ve told these guys throughout and every coach says the exact same thing when the season starts, you have to defend if you want to advance into the playoffs,” JackJumpers head coach Scott Roth said.

“Tonight was just a good example of everyone being locked in and focused of what we were doing.”

It was a low scoring start to the game, with both teams unable to convert on the offensive end in the first quarter despite getting plenty of open looks. The Kings took a 19-18 lead at the first break, and started the second quarter strong through Alex Tooey. The 18-year-old Next Star was an unlikely focus of the Kings offence offence as he hit two consecutive threes on his way to 14 points for the half.

While Toohey was playing a lone hand for Sydney, Tasmania had no shortage of scoring options in the second quarter. They hit six baskets from outside the arc, including a pair from Jordan Crawford, they blew open the game with a 30 point quarter to lead 48-40 at half time.

After Doyle hitting some clutch shots late in the first half, Tasmania went back to him early in the third quarter, and he continued to find the bottom of the net, pushing the lead out to 14. But Kings import Jaylen Adams, who had been held to just three shots in the first half, began to heat up for Sydney. Adams was back in MVP mode, with 14 points in the quarter and the JackJumpers struggling to find ways to contain his speed as continually pushed the ball on fast breaks. Adams single handedly brought the kings off the canvas, cutting the lead to 7 heading into the final quarter.

But the Sydney comeback was put out of reach with a pair of big threes from Clint Steindl and Sean MacDonald early in the forth, killing the Kings momentum. The JackJumpers focused on management clock, continuously passing up shots to use their full 24 seconds, giving little chance for the kings to come back, to the delight of their home fans.

Despite consecutive baskets late in the game to draw the lead back to 6, a miscommunication by the Kings defence that allowed a Jack McVeigh dunk sealed the win for the home team.

Doyle top scored for Tasmania with 21 points and 3 assists, Crawford had 15 points and 4 assists while Jack McVeigh finished with 13 points and 6 rebounds.

No place like home for JJ’s

After a close loss on the road last week to the Perth Wildcats, the JackJumpers were eager to get back in front of their home fans. Which Milton Doyle said really helped the team.

“I think they were the reason we got going, just the energy from the the crowd uplifted us,” Doyle said.

JackJumpers pressure around the ring the difference

“They just did a great job of putting pressure on the rim and then crashing the glass….I mean its going to be hard to win when you give up 20 offensive rebounds and you shoot 28% from three,”Sydney Kings coach Mahmoud Abdelfattah said after the game.

His views were echoed by Kings forward Jonah Bolden.

“I think they were a bit more the aggressors coming out. You know second chance points, rebounds were kind of our downfall and just keeping that motor through all four [quarters]” he said.

Up Next

A quick break for Tasmania, who are back on the road to face Melbourne United on Sunday afternoon (2PM AEDT). While the Kings have their home opener, also on Sunday afternoon (4PM AEDT)