Kings reign on the road

The Sydney Kings put aside some poor recent defensive performances to pick up a tough 90-82 road win over the Tasmania JackJumpers in Hobart on Sunday afternoon.

The Kings defence forced the JackJumpers into a season high 19 turnovers, as they struggled to find any rhythm throughout the game.

“They were in the passing lanes and knocking some passes down, we were sloppy with the ball and a little loose with it,” JackJumpers coach Scott Roth said.

“I think it was just more a combination of them playing very well against us, and us being a little sloppy and lazy in some passing areas.

The Kings had conceding an average of 101.5 points per game across their previous 4 match coming into the match, and it seemed likely pre-game the JackJumpers offensive firepower would overwhelm Sydney. The prediction went according to that script in the opening quarter, when the JackJumpers scored 24 points and opened an early three point lead.

But the second quarter was when the Kings turned the screws, limiting Tasmania to just 9 points and shooting just 4 of 17 on the floor. While at the other end the Kings scored 18 points to take 39-33 lead at the main break. The Kings were led by young prospect Jaylin Galloway, who stood above his star team mates to finished the game with a career high 22 points.

The JackJumpers fought hard in the second half, and brought the game back to within one point in the final quarter. However key baskets by Galloway and Alex Toohey shut the door on a late Jackies comeback.

For the JackJumpers, Jack McVeigh scored 23 points and had 7 rebounds, Jordon Crawford had 22 and Milton Doyle had 10. However despite thier offensive outputs, the star trio also combined for 12 turnovers.

The Kings were very good and very solid and on point and it was just kind of a grinding game for us where we just really couldn’t sustain anything,” Scott Roth said.

JackJumpers drop to forth

At the start of Round 11, Tasmania were in second spot on the NBL ladder and were on a three game winning streak. But losses to Perth on Friday, and now Sydney, see the JackJumpers slip to forth (9-7) overall.

With recent wins coming against lower ranked teams, there will be some questions as to whether is a legitimate contender for NBL 24.

Up Next

Tasmania travel to Wollongong to take on the Illawarra Hawks on Wednesday night. But following that is a strong home-stand for Tasmania, where 5 of the next 6 games will be at MyState Bank Arena.