The Sydney Kings have shaken off a sluggish beginning to continue their unbeaten start to the NBL season with a resounding 93-78 Ignite Cup win over the Brisbane Bullets.
After trailing by 11 points at quarter-time at Sydney's Afterpay Arena on Wednesday night, the reigning champions applied the defensive clamps to swamp Brisbane 20-10 and 29-14 in the middle two terms.
Kendric Davis racked up 24 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, and Makuach Maluach contributed 19 off the bench as the ladder-leading Kings marched to a 3-0 record.
"In order to be good in this, you've got to defend," Sydney coach Brian Goorjian said.
"Once we locked them down defensively and we got the glass taken care of, it was going to be a physical, tough game.
"I liked where we went tonight to win."
Imports Jaylin Williams (19 points, eight boards) and Arnas Velicka (15) led the way for the Bullets, who were dealt their first defeat of the season.
Brisbane fell behind 8-3 early before dominating the majority of the opening period, with last season's wooden spooners hitting the front before extending their advantage to 34-23 at quarter-time.
The Kings sprung into action in the second quarter, turning up the heat defensively and propelled by Davis offensively, slashing the Bullets' buffer to 44-43 at halftime.
The lead changed hands multiple times in the third term before Sydney found another gear, going on separate 8-0 and 10-0 runs to leap ahead 72-58 at three-quarter-time.
Torrey Craig's athletic alley-oop jam from a Davis lob was the highlight of the fourth period, as the Kings continued to keep Brisbane at bay and underline why they remain the competition's benchmark.
"That's obviously an exceptionally good side over there - champions, at home," Bullets coach Will Weaver said of Sydney, who he led to a grand final in 2019-20 during his first stint in Australia.
"I thought we could have had a pretty significant lead in the first half.
"There's tons of stuff to learn from the second half and that's what we'll get stuck into."
