The New Zealand Breakers remain winless after a 97-75 loss to the Sydney Kings on Saturday night.
Both teams were winless heading into the game in Sydney, and both struggled to find much of a groove in the opening half.
The Kings led by seven points after the first quarter and by five at halftime, but the game was on the line coming into the third quarter before the home team took charge.
Sydney’s offence got rolling in the third quarter. They piled on 31 points while holding the Breakers to 18 and controlled the fourth quarter to maintain a handy buffer.
The win improves the Kings to 1-1 on the season on the back of shooting 51% from the field with 19 assists to just seven turnovers.
The Breakers shot just 41%, including going a ghastly 6-of-32 from behind the three-point arc as they slip to 0-4.
Star signing Kendric Davis took 27 shots for his 21 points last week in his Kings debut but was much more efficient this time around with 28 points on 11-of-17 shooting to go with four assists.
Tim Soares also hit a couple of threes on his way to 16 points, eight rebounds, two assists and two blocks, Jaylin Galloway added 11 points and Kouat Noi 10, and Shaun Bruce chimed in with six and four rebounds in his 350th NBL appearance.
Matthew Dellavedova might not have scored but still had a significant say in the result with seven assists and six rebounds.
Parker Jackson-Cartwright (16 points, five rebounds, five assists), Rob Baker II (15 points, four boards, two steals) and Sam Mennenga (14 points, 12 rebounds, three assists, two steals) battled hard for the Breakers.
They did not have enough support, though, and the struggles of Izaiah Brockington (eight points) remains a concern.
After a flat start, Sydney eventually got moving through Davis, whose 10 first-quarter points steered the hosts to a 22-15 lead at the opening change.
The Breakers’ offence continued to be clunky, settling for outside shots which went largely unrewarded.
After trimming the gap to 39-34 at halftime, the visitors were blown away in the third term as Davis and Kouat Noi prospered down the stretch to open up an unassailable 70-52 cushion at three-quarter time.
Mennenga’s vicious dunk over Soares was a rare highlight for the Breakers in the fourth term, which Davis and the rejuvenated Kings continued to dominate.
— Allied Media
