Melbourne United have consolidated top spot on the NBL ladder after claiming a 93-76 away win over the Sydney Kings.
The league leaders led from start to finish at Qudos Bank Arena on Sunday to register their 16th victory of the season and move one win ahead of Adelaide with a game in hand.
The Kings battled hard but had no answer for centre import Josh Boone, who scored 18 of his game-high 22 points in the first half and added 13 rebounds and two blocked shots.
Chris Goulding contributed 22 points while Casper Ware (20 points) stepped up whenever Sydney rallied to ensure his side remained in control.
Sydney fell behind early and could only connect on 1-of-12 three-point attempts in the first half but showed plenty of fight before succumbing late.
Todd Blanchfield top-scored for Sydney with 18 points while Jerome Randle had 16 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.
Nine points from Boone saw the visitors establish an early lead, and while Brad Newley and Perry Ellis combined to keep the Kings in touch, three-pointers from Peter Hooley and Goulding helped United close the first term 23-18.
Melbourne then reeled off seven unanswered points, with Carrick Felix’s triple pushing the lead into double digits.
The Kings produced their own burst to close the gap to two points with less than three minutes left in the half, but Ware found Boone for a one-handed dunk then hit a running floater before assisting on two more Boone baskets to ensure United went to the break 43-35.
Melbourne surged again with Goulding’s triple building a 13-point advantage before the Kings finally found their shooting touch as Jason Cadee and Blanchfield hit from long range as part of a 10-0 scoring run.
Ware answered again for Melbourne and a long bomb from David Barlow sent the lead back beyond double figures.
The visitors absorbed Sydney’s late charge to power home to win by 17 points and leave the Kings stranded at the bottom of the ladder.
Both teams will be back in action next Saturday, with United looking to take another step towards finishing top when they host Brisbane while Sydney faces an away clash with Cairns.
Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.