Melbourne Tigers beat Sydney Kings to maintain NBL lead

Melbourne United consolidated top spot on the NBL ladder after claiming a 93-76 away win over the Sydney Kings yesterday.

Melbourne’s Josh Boone reaches for the ball against the Kings. Picture: Getty Images.

Melbourne United consolidated top spot on the NBL ladder after claiming a 93-76 away win over the Sydney Kings yesterday.

The league leaders led from start to finish at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney 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 topscored for Sydney with 18 points while Jerome Randle had 16 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.

The Illawarra Hawks remain in the running for a top-four ­finish after their convincing 88-78 home win over the Cairns Taipans.

American guard Rotnei Clarke (20 points) and Australian Boomers forward Nick Kay (17) were prominent on Sunday for the Hawks, who claimed their 10th victory to keep hold of fifth spot.

Illawarra are three wins behind New Zealand and four behind reigning champions Perth with six games of the 28-game regular season remaining. Melbourne United are on top of the table with a 16-7 win-loss record, while Adelaide (15-9) are second after Saturday’s surprise loss to Brisbane. The Hawks led from start to finish yesterday and were up by as many as 22 in the second half before the Taipans mounted a late revival to make the score respectable.

Cairns are 10-15 for the season and effectively out of finals ­contention. Paced by six points apiece from Kay and Clarke, the Hawks started strongly to build an early lead.

The home team knocked down an impressive 60 per cent of their shots in the first period, while the Taipans made just 28 per cent and fell behind 23-15 at quarter-time. The Hawks went from strength to strength in the second period, keeping the visitors comfortably at arm’s length.

Illawarra host New Zealand on Friday night, while the ­Taipans are at home against Sydney on Saturday.

AAP