Match Recap: 2021 NBL Blitz - Game 2 v Sydney Kings

Melbourne United have lost their first game of the 2021 Hungry Jacks NBL Blitz, dropping a competitive game to the Sydney Kings on Monday evening.

United got off to a slow start compared to their game on Saturday, struggling to find open looks because of the swarming Sydney defence.

After Matthew Dellavedova and Caleb Agada hit back-to-back triples in the opening minutes of the game, Melbourne’s offence stalled.

On the other end, the Kings were rolling early.

Angus Glover scored 9 points in the opening term, while Biwali Bayles provided a great spark off the bench for Sydney, helping them to a 25-15 lead after one.

The second quarter was an entirely different story, as Melbourne lifted its intensity on both ends of the court.

Zac Triplett came off the bench for his first minutes of the Blitz, scoring four quick points and causing major issues at the top of United’s full-court press.

Slowly but surely, Sydney’s momentum disappeared thanks to a deep (really deep) Chris Goulding triple, and some great hustle plays from Mason Peatling and Jo Lual-Acuil.
Despite this, the Kings were able to hold onto a slim, two-point advantage going into the main break.

United continued their momentum coming out of the break thanks in part to some great activity from their trio of development players,Triplett, David Okwera and Will ‘Davo’ Hickey, who sunk a triple to tie the game up.

The rest of the quarter was however all Sydney traffic, as the Kings executed their game plan well, pushing their lead to 11 points going into the final term.
Jarell Martin played a large role in this effort, closing the quarter leading all scorers with 16 points.

Trailing by as many as 13 points in the final term, United made one last push, fueled by some great play on with ends from Okwera.
The teenager had a huge dunk, followed by a great feed to JLA to cut the lead to just five, before Agada drained a triple a few possessions later to make it a one possession game.

Unfortunately for Melbourne, this would be as close as they would come to victory, as Sydney made some crucial plays down the closing stretch of the game to secure the win.

Despite the loss, Melbourne still took home two points in the NBL Blitz standings.

United’s next game of the Blitz will be against the Illawarra Hawks on Saturday evening.