NBL: Sydney Kings’ bench duo Daniel Kickert, DeShon Taylor lead the way against the Phoenix

The Sydney Kings through the power of their bench have regrouped and shut down South-East Melbourne Phoenix’s danger man, John Roberson, at the same time to return to the winners’ list.

The Sydney Kings have ended their mini-slump and consolidated top spot in the NBL with a decisive 110-98 victory over South-East Melbourne.

Sydney entered the contest having lost three of their past four games, including a seven-point defeat to Brisbane on Saturday evening.

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The four-game stretch was easily the worst of the season for coach Will Weaver, and another loss would’ve left them vulnerable to second-placed Perth.

However the title favourites returned to their winning ways on Monday with a balanced offensive effort that included eight players scoring at least eight points.

John Roberson of the Phoenix fights for the ball with Xavier Cooks and Deshon Taylor.

And it was two of their bench players that led the way.

Veteran big man Daniel Kickert paced the Kings with a season-high 18 points, while import DeShon Taylor also had a career night with 15.

However the victory was soured by a suspected leg injury to NBA draftee Didi Louzada, who limped off midway through the final quarter.

Import DeShon Taylor dribbles past Mitchell Creek on his way to a career-high 15 points.

Phoenix star John Roberson had a game-high 23 points, but it wasn’t enough to prevent his side from slumping to a fourth loss in five games.

Little separated both teams in a high-octane opening quarter before the Kings upped the ante by pounding the paint in the second period.

The Phoenix allowed the Kings to waltz to the rim at will, with 40 of Sydney’s 59 first-half points coming inside the restricted area.

Xavier Cooks drives to the basket against the South East Melbourne Phoenix.

Only the play of Phoenix pair and Mitch Creek and Roberson, who combined for 28 their team’s 47 first-half points, limited the Kings to a 12-point halftime lead.

South-East Melbourne threatened to make it a contest when Roberson nailed three consecutive bombs early in the third quarter to get within five.

Kings coach Will Weaver tries to lift his players during a time out.

Then Sydney responded with a long-range barrage of their own.

The Kings connected on five of their 10 attempts for the period, including three from Taylor, and a buzzer-beating bomb from Kickert, for a 17-point lead.

And despite the Phoenix making a couple of pushes in the final quarter, Sydney held firm for a well-deserved victory in front of a home crowd of 10,070.

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