NBL round 16: Kings sack import Lamonte Turner, fall to Melbourne United in rivalry clash
Melbourne United survived an almighty scare to knock off the Sydney Kings, which comes the same day they released import signing Lamonte Turner before he played a game.
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Melbourne United survived an almighty scare to claim a huge scalp and knock off the Sydney Kings.
Leading by as much as 20 and up by nine inside the final 35 seconds, United turned the ball over twice in the dying stages to let the Kings tie it up on the back of an Izayah Le’Afa triple with five seconds to play.
That was before Jack White (23 points, 10 rebounds) proved the hero at the death, getting to the basket on a Matthew Dellavedova find to gift United another close win over their Sydney rivals 90-88.
It looked like being anything but a grandstand finish as Melbourne turned a six-point lead at the start of the fourth quarter into a 14-point buffer that they maintained for a majority of the term.
That was before the Kings rallied on the back of a 10,328-strong crowd at Qudos Bank Arena to almost do enough to force overtime, only to be denied at the last moment, with United now moving into outright second.
UNITED’S BRICK WALL
Shea Ili (20 points, five assists) has a reputation as a defensive beast and it was up to him to set the tempo for a United side that had been struggling on that end in recent weeks.
He had a steal on an unsuspecting Cooks on the opening possession, before locking down the explosive Adams who had no answer.
The Kings committed five turnovers in the opening term and looked shellshocked as United raced out to a 32-16 lead at the end of one.
Ili picked the pockets of the Kings from the inbound to start the second quarter to heap further pain on the home side.
NOI SHINES OFF BENCH
Kouat Noi mounted his case for the Best Sixth Man Award with another stellar effort from the bench.
When the Kings were looking for a spark it was Noi who came out all guns blazing to hit his first three attempts from range.
He had 14 points (4/5 FG) at the half as Sydney cut the lead down to 10 midway through the second quarter, only for United to go on another run and lead 57-41 at the main break.
IMPORTS GO COLD
The two Sydney imports that did play were safely contained by United as coach Brian Goorjian looked for answers elsewhere.
Cam Oliver wasn’t sighted in the second half after starting the game, playing just 11 minutes.
The recent hot run of Jaylen Adams came to a halt as he could only produce seven points (2-7 FG) and was -26 in his 22 minutes on the court.
REFEREE’S HEAD SCRATCHERS
It took just three minutes for the officials to get offside with both coaches Dean Vickerman and Brian Goorjian.
Shaun Bruce appeared to play for the foul by simply falling over, only for Jack White to be penalised.
Then Xavier Cooks had a clean block on Matthew Dellavedova ruled the opposite.
KINGS RELEASE IMPORT
The Sydney Kings have released import guard Lamonte Turner just hours before his NBL debut after he failed a team physical.
Turner was set to take on Melbourne United on Thursday night, but the Kings released a statement saying the club had “voided” his contract.
Crosscourt understands the American, who hasn’t played since appearing in Serbia in April last year due a broken thumb, was underdone physically leaving Sydney officials with no choice but to terminate his deal.
It’s understood Turner had a cold on arrival to Australia and could not show his best during a workout.
He then completed several physical tests, but his lack of conditioning was deemed to be unacceptable for professional competition.
Turner spoke to Code Sports on Wednesday night about his looming NBL debut for the Kings.
He spoke about the challenge of finding his match fitness after such an extended period on the sideline.
“I got off the plane last Saturday and I’ve been able to get a few workouts in with the coaches,” said Turner, who has played in America, Finland, Poland, Slovenia and most recently Serbia throughout his career.
“I just need to get game fit because it has been a while since I’ve played.
“It’s also taking a bit of time to get used to being in this part of the world compared to Europe, but I’m getting there.”
Turner expressed his excitement about playing for the Kings under the NBL’s greatest coach Brian Goorjian.
He also hadn’t ruled out extending his stay in Sydney if he had performed.
“I’m taking it one day at a time, but I’ll get into the rhythm of the season, prove myself and hopefully find a home here,” he said.
“It’s a great franchise and place to play.
The Sydney Kings have made a statement about the newly signed US import Lamonte Turner.
— Sydney Kings (@SydneyKings) January 9, 2025
📰: https://t.co/vy52fah80tpic.twitter.com/pxe8sV8qWz
“As a player, you want to be somewhere where you can compete for a championship.
“That is what they do here in Sydney and that’s the standard.
“The coach (Brian Goorjian) has won six championships, so he is definitely a high-level coach and someone I can learn from.
“He will also push me and as a player that is what you want when you come into a new situation.”
These words don’t matter now, with Turner released by Sydney without playing a single game.
The Kings confirmed the club will not make any further roster changes to close out their NBL25 season.
Sydney take on arch-rivals Melbourne United at Qudos Bank Arena tonight from 7.30pm (AEDT).
Originally published as NBL round 16: Kings sack import Lamonte Turner, fall to Melbourne United in rivalry clash
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