Sydney’s march back to the NBL’s biggest stage began with a classic at Qudos Bank Arena and ended with a statement in the west, as the Kings swept Perth to book their spot in the Championship Series. Sydney’s first up 105-104 win over the Wildcats on Wednesday 11 March had everything you want from finals basketball: a roaring home crowd, lead changes on almost every trip and a finish that came down to a single defensive stand.
In a contest that saw the margin swing back and forth all night, the Kings leaned on their composure late, scrambling on the glass after two desperate Perth attempts in the dying seconds to finally close out a breathless opener.
Kendric Davis lit up the Kingdome with 35 points, including five threes that kept Sydney’s offence humming. Torrey Craig’s 20-point high-impact display set the physical tone at both ends, while steady contributions from Matthew Dellavedova and Xavier Cooks underlined a performance built as much on resilience as on shot-making.
If Game 1 was about survival, Game 2 in Perth was about control. The Kings absorbed an early Wildcats surge and a three-point halftime deficit, then turned up the pressure after the break, riding a 46-29 second half to an 89-75 win at RAC Arena and a 2-0 sweep.
Davis again led the scoring with 27, but it was the collective lift from the bench with suffocating team defence that held Perth to just 13 third-quarter points and broke the series open.
By the final minutes, Sydney was dictating tempo, getting to their preferred spots and closing out on a 14-point cushion that felt every bit as emphatic as the numbers suggest.
From one-point escape to double-digit domination, the Kings showed they can win when it is wild and when it is systematic, a blend that now has them heading into the grand final with momentum and a genuine belief that another title is within reach.
