Sydney Kings fall in NBL playoffs against Melbourne United
Sydney Kings' season is over after suffering a second successive defeat to Melbourne in the playoff series, losing 90-76 to miss out on a place in the decider.
Led by Chris Goulding and Casper Ware, United set-up a final clash with Perth Wildcats after proving too good and too strong against the Kings at Qudos Bank Arena.
A bumper crowd of 14,569 may have provided a farweell party for outgoing coach Andrew Gaze but the reception couldn't keep Sydney's season alive.
"Obviously we’re all disappointed in the result in that particular game, unbelievable credit to Melbourne United. I thought they played exceptionally well," Gaze said. "The effort was not the case of our losing of the game. They gave everything they possibly could."
With all the attention on American import DJ Kennedy, it was the more nimble Ware who inflicted all the damage for Melbourne early in the match. An early three-pointer and a handful of baskets from the guard put the visitors ahead, seemingly comfortable. However, momentum changed when the Kings' Kevin Lisch hit back from outside of the area while drawing a foul. He made it 16-all but couldn't add the extras from the line.
The hosts then grew in confidence and a three-pointer from Daniel Kickert in the dying moments gave them a 24-22 lead by quarter-time.
However, there was little stopping Ware. Melbourne's star was in an unforgiving mood and continued to torment the Kings after the restart, having already notched 17 points by the break. He led Melbourne's onslaught before being withdrawn and against a roster as strong as Melbourne's, Sydney struggled in defence and were battling just to remain in touch with their rivals.
They were given a chance to creep back into the contest, in part due to the rusty finishing of Kennedy, who failed to convert any of his five attempts, remaining scoreless in the first half. Sydney took advantage and Lisch lead their charge, remaining ice cold from the line to close the deficit to four points before a basket from Andrew Bogut late in the quarter tested the nerves of the visitors. Mitch McCarron provided some breathing space for Melbourne before a flying Brian Bowen made it 40-42 by half-time.
Lisch remained at the thick of things, hitting five points early before fouling Chris Goulding to hand Melbourne a chance to take a six-point lead. With their season on the line, a vocal crowd did what they could to spur on their side in their time of need and Bogut was the first to respond, stepping into the contest to add his authority with a couple of points.
However, it failed to tilt the tide. Goulding showed his class, cutting through Sydney's defence to silence the home fans, claiming 23 points by the end of the quarter as Melbourne's lead swelled to nine by the final break.
From there, there was little coming back for the Kings against a dominant United who clinched a deserved win with a polished ending to the game.