Kings sweep Queensland road trip

Updated October 28, 2012 21:33:25

Sydney Kings overcame the loss of one co-captain and were sparked by another to notch a notable Queensland NBL road double.

A 92-87 win over Townsville (0-5) on Saturday was followed by a 71-69 victory at Cairns (2-3) on Sunday to lift Sydney (3-2) into the top four.

It is the first time the Kings have had a win-loss record above 50 per cent since winning their opening match on readmittance to the NBL for the 2010-11 season.

Co-captain Ben Madgen scored 23 points against Townsville, just behind the 25-point haul of Aaron Bruce.

He followed up with a team-leading 22 points against Cairns where Sydney came from eight points down in the last quarter.

Import Corin Henry produced a game-tilting steal and basket inside the last 20 seconds.

The Kings are currently without their other co-captain James Harvey, who is expected to be sidelined for eight to 10 weeks with a broken arm.

"Pressure was mounted and you can either get it done or suck your thumb and now the challenge is to maintain the level we've set," Kings coach Shane Heal said.

Wollongong (4-0) maintained its perfect start to the season with a 77-63 away win over Adelaide (2-2).

Guard Adris Deleon scored 16 of his 23 points in the last quarter, as the Hawks rallied from a 12-point, first-quarter deficit.

"We thought we probably should have been 15 or even more down at half-time, but we found a way to hang around," Wollongong coach Gordie McLeod said.

AAP

Tags: nbl, basketball, sport, cairns-4870, qld, australia

First posted October 28, 2012 20:38:21

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Boomers sweep series against Greece

Updated June 27, 2012 22:25:13

Australia wrapped up its farewell series against Greece with a 79-58 victory in the third and final game in Geelong.

The Boomers, who won the opening two games of the series 87-60 and 91-51, looked set for a comfortable victory when they held a 17-point advantage at half-time.

But that was reduced to just five points when the Greeks fought back in the third quarter to trail 44-39.

The hosts found enough in the tank to re-focus in the final term and ice the win, which gave them a 3-0 series triumph in their last hit-out on Australian soil before the London Olympics.

Matthew Dellavedova led the scoring for the Boomers with 12 points, while Joe Ingles and Brad Newley added 11-point hauls.

Georgios Bogris and Nikolaos Pappas both posted 16 points for Greece.

Their first game at the London Olympics is against Brazil on July 29.

Tags: sport, basketball, olympics-summer, geelong-3220

First posted June 27, 2012 22:23:49

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Opals complete clean sweep

Updated June 29, 2012 14:57:49

The Australian women's basketball team posted a series sweep against Brazil, following a comfortable 102-58 victory in the third and final game in Melbourne.

The Opals used the series to fine tune their preparations for the London Olympics and they did not disappoint the vocal crowd at the State Basketball Centre.

The hosts built their win on a dominant second quarter, when they outscored Brazil 22-9 to take a 43-27 lead into half-time.

They continued to apply the pressure in the third term when they set up a 72-46 advantage at the final break, before icing the win in the final quarter.

Liz Cambage was prominent on the scoreboard with a game-high 23 points, in addition to seven rebounds.

Lauren Jackson, playing her second game back from a hamstring injury, provided able assistance with 18 points, as did Jenna O'Hea, who added a 16-point tally.

Opals coach Carrie Graf was satisfied with the hit-out from her troops.

"Defensively we're getting much better, we have a great understanding of this opponent," she said.

"We got Lauren Jackson back on for major minutes. Things are on the up, we got better each game and it was nice to close out the series."

The Opals won 85-64 and 80-73 in the opening two games of the series.

Tags: basketball, sport, olympics-summer, melbourne-3000

First posted June 28, 2012 22:29:50

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Opals overpower China for clean sweep

Updated July 30, 2011 22:50:09

The Australian women's basketball team proved it has plenty of firepower without star Lauren Jackson, annihilating a near-full strength China 98-72 in Cairns on Saturday night.

After two tough victories in Logan and Townsville earlier this week the Australians had it all their own way to seal a perfect 3-0 series result.

A 12-point run from the Opals in the second-quarter killed the hopes of the visitors with every player clocking good minutes in a display sure to give head coach Carrie Graf confidence heading into Olympic qualifiers in September.

Abby Bishop (20 points) did the damage in the first half before Suzy Batkovic (19 points) took the game by the scruff of the neck in the second in her trademark brutal fashion.

With the game wrapped up Kristen Veal added the icing with back-to-back triples to help nudge the margin to a game high 30.

Lijie Miao was the game's top scorer with 23 points for the Chinese but her efforts could not stop the all-round Australian dominance.

The Australians matched the physicality of the Chinese women but also showed they had pace too, moving well from defence.

Guards Kristen Veal, Hanna Zavecz and Carly Wilson had the Chinese offence worked out in what was their third clash inside a week, managing to grab regular intercepts despite the presence of giant 207cm centre Wei Wei.

Together they stifled the visitors, going on a 12-point run to set up a lead of 17 at the main break.

The Opals tinkered with their line-up from the outset, injecting bench trio Cayla Francis, Jessica Bibby and Batkovic after five minutes.

They were up to the task and helped the Australians take a five point lead into the second quarter.

Opals top scorer Bishop was reluctant to take credit for the win, saying it was a matter of just doing her bit.

"Someone steps up each game, we all do our job and I think we're happy with where we are at as a group leading into these qualifiers," she said.

Graf paid tribute to her side's stamina and depth.

"I think we wore them down a bit in the end," she said.

"Each of these girls is going to be part of the Opals set up, some will definitely be in that Olympic team but some further down the track and they are all showing that they deserve to be there by how they are performing at the moment."

AAP

Tags: basketball, sport, cairns-4870, qld, australia, china

First posted July 30, 2011 21:20:55

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Mavs sweep lacklustre Lakers from Playoffs

Posted May 9, 2011 11:45:00

The Dallas Mavericks completed a 4-0 second round sweep of the Los Angeles Lakers with a 122-86 rout of the two-time defending champions.

Dallas tied an NBA Playoff record with 20 three-pointers to land the knockout blow on the aging and weary Lakers and send 11-time NBA champion coach Phil Jackson into retirement on a sour note.

Jason Terry drained nine three-pointers of his own and 32 points to send the Mavericks into the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 2006.

In that season, Dallas lost to Miami in the NBA Finals despite holding a 2-0 series lead, but it suffered no such letdown against LA.

"We went to the finals that one year and have since had a couple early exits, but I think this team is as deep as any Mavs team I've been on and we're trying to go for it," Dallas All Star Dirk Nowitzki told reporters after finishing with 17 points.

"(The Lakers) are the defending champions. It was great to get through this series."

Kobe Bryant came out hot with 13 points in the first quarter, but finished with just 17 as the Mavs blitzed the visitors 36-16 in the second quarter to take a 24-point half-time lead.

The Lakers had reached the past three NBA Finals but in a season marked by inconsistent efforts they ultimately collapsed in Dallas in what was likely the end of Jackson's career.

Los Angeles big men Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum were ejected in the fourth quarter after taking cheap shots on Dallas players once the game was well out of reach.

Jackson, the most successful coach in NBA history, has maintained that this would be his final season.

Having led the Chicago Bulls to six championships in the 1990s, and the Lakers to five since, the 65-year-old has called it a career after his 20th season as a head coach.

"All of my hopes and aspirations are that this is the final game that I will coach," said Jackson.

"This has been a wonderful run. I go out with a sour note after being fined 35,000 dollars by the league earlier today."

The NBA fined Jackson earlier in the day for comments made about the officiating in the series.

Bryant, who has won each of his five titles with Jackson as coach, said he a hard time imagining playing for anyone else.

"It's tough to put into words what he's meant for me," Bryant said.

"I grew up under him. The way I approach and think about things, a lot of it comes from him because I've been around him so much.

"It's a little weird for me to think of what next year is going to be like."

-Reuters

Tags: sport, basketball, united-states

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