Sydney Kings win back-to-back NBL titles after epic Game 5 triumph over New Zealand Breakers

The Sydney Kings have defended their NBL title by defeating the New Zealand Breakers 77-69 in the fifth and final game of the championship series at Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena.

A thrilling Game 5 was only marred by a spectator tossing a water bottle onto the court following a controversial refereeing decision.

With eight minutes left in the final quarter and the scores tied, Kings guard Jordan Simon broke free and looked to seal an easy lay-up only for Breakers forward Derek Pardon to intervene.

Pardon batted away the ball from the rim and the referee allowed the play to continue, with the Breakers streaming up court and taking the lead courtesy of Jamaal Brantley’s three-pointer.

The decision enraged the Kings bench, with Sydney coach Chase Buford furiously appealing for goaltending while a fan launched a water bottle onto the court.

The defending champions won Game 5 in Sydney 77-69 to make it two titles in two years

‘That’s disgraceful. That’s just completely unacceptable,’ Australian basketball legend Andrew Gaze said on commentary. 

The incident was the only sour note of an otherwise spectacular night of basketball.  

In front of the largest NBL crowd in history – 18,124 – NBA-bound forward Xavier Cooks had his best game of the series to help the Kings fight back from 12 points down in the first half.

The victory confirms a dynasty for the Kings, who have now won back-to-back titles in Chase Buford’s first two seasons as coach despite significant roster changes in the off-season.

The win put paid to a Breakers fairytale – New Zealand spent the whole of last season on the road due to COVID-19 and finished bottom of the ladder – as they were denied the chance to write the final chapter in their rag-to-riches story under rookie coach Mody Maor.

Sydney’s fifth NBL title comes after one of the closest championship series in NBL history – it marked only the fifth time a best-of-five series had been taken to five games, and the second time since 1997 the team that lost game one went on to clinch the trophy.

The Breakers were quicker to come out of the blocks and led by as many as 11 points in the first quarter as Will McDowell-White (12 points, eight rebounds), one of their best this series, called the shots.

The NBL fined both Kings coach Chase Buford and Breakers CEO Matt Walsh for criticising its referees this week but only Sydney attracted the attention of the officials early on Wednesday – the Kings gave six fouls away before the Breakers gave one.

Sydney were unable to attack the paint as normal, locked out by resolute New Zealand defence and forced into taking low-percentage shots. They missed six consecutive attempts at three but an Angus Glover triple towards the end of the second quarter gave the Kings the lift they needed.

Off the bench, Glover was gallant as the game wore on, playing through what appeared to be a rib injury but finished with 12 points and nine rebounds.

Xavier Cooks’ last game before joining the NBA’s Washington Wizards was his best of the championship series, despite a corked thigh continuing to give him grief.

Cooks (19 points, 11 rebounds) began to work his way into the contest in the second period and charged through the paint to beat the buzzer and cut the margin to only one point at half-time.

A jump shot from Derrick Walton Jr. (team-high 21 points, six assists) gave the Kings their first lead since early in the first quarter and proved a sign of things to come. The American began to make things happen for the Kings in a tight third quarter.

But New Zealand imports Barry Brown Jr. (22 points) and Jarrell Brantley (16 points, four rebounds) kept the Kings from running away and the scores were tied at 56 at the final change.

Kings star Angus Glover toasted a second successive title with the iconic ‘shoey’ celebration

Derrick Walton Jr (left) receives the named Championship Series MVP trophy from Australian basketball great Andrew Gaze (right)

Xavier Cooks finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds to help the Kings to a second title

It was only the second time in NBL history the scores were level at the final break of a championship-deciding match.

As tensions rose, players appealed to the referees after a water bottle was thrown from the crowd and onto the court.

New Zealand captain Tom Abercrombie fouled out with three minutes and the Kings went on a 13-point scoring run as Cooks tightened his grip on his opposite man Brantley.

A Walton jump shot in the final minute put the margin at six, forcing a Breakers timeout before the Kings enjoyed a thrilling victory.