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The Sydney Kings have strengthened their status as NBL road warriors after a strong first-half performance helped them defeat Melbourne United easily 91-71 and established a league record with 14 straight road wins. With a two-game winning run against their fierce rivals, including a 42-point thrashing in round three of last season, Melbourne came into their matchup on Sunday at John Cain Arena. However, the Kings completely flipped the script by destroying their opponent in the first half to take the lead at halftime, 57-23.
With a remarkable run of 25 straight points in the first half, the visitors put themselves in a position to win. The visitors’ captain, Xavier Cooks, produced an early contender for dunk of the year with a spectacular one-handed effort over Isaac Humphries of the United team as part of a 16-0 start to the second quarter. Yes, he gave the man a really bad punch. Guard Dejan Vasiljevic praised his teammate’s aerial finish over the 211-centimeter Melbourne center as “maybe the nicest dunk I’ve ever seen.” The versatile Cooks led a defensive effort that reduced United to just 19% (8 of 41) shooting in the first half while scoring 13 of his game-high 23 points in the decisive second quarter. Coach Chase Buford was quite pleased with Cooks’ performance.
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Even though United had a terrible start, missing 11 of their first 12 shots, they still trailed by one point by the conclusion of the first quarter when Xavier Rathan-Mayes hit back-to-back triples. But the Kings edged ahead 27-17 thanks to a pair of three-pointers from Vasiljevic, capping a 9-0 run before United crumbled in the second half. Cooks put his imprint on the game with three triples in addition to his spectacular dunk.
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Perth vs Melbourne United: Predicted Lineup
Perth: Bryce Cotton, Jesse Wagstaff, TaShawn Thomas, Corey Webster, Luke Travers
Melbourne United: Wena Okwera, Lachlan Barker, Jordan Caroline, Brad Newley, Ariel Hukporti
Where And When To Watch?
The NBL Aus Perth vs Melbourne United match will be held on October 14, 9:30 PM (Australia Time) and 4:00 PM (Indian Time). Fans can live stream the match on Kayo Sports, and Foxtel.
