Melbourne falls to Sydney in double overtime thriller

Melbourne United fell to the Sydney Kings in a double overtime thriller at Qudos Bank Arena on Saturday night. It was a battle of attrition as both teams gave it their all, but after 10 minutes of extra time, the Kings found themselves in front when it mattered most.

Chris Goulding’s scintillating form from long-range continued from the opening tip when he drained a triple in the first 20 seconds of the game, but offence was hard to come by for both teams in the early stages of the contest.

Jock Landale got busy in the second half of the quarter, while Casper Ware found his rhythm too. Meanwhile, Scotty Hopson was injected into the game and scored a nifty bucket despite the contact from Ware.

A late Goulding triple gave Melbourne a four-point lead, 22-18, after a quarter of play.

Hopson continued his strong output with another score through contact and when Goulding nailed his third triple of the night less than a minute into the second term, Sydney was forced to call a time-out suddenly facing an eight-point deficit, 28-20.

A pair of Hopson buckets in the final two minutes of the first half helped Melbourne to a five-point lead, 46-41, at the main break. Goulding (12 points) led all scorers in the first half, while Ware and Martin (10 points each) were pacing Sydney.

The second half was a game of runs and it was Sydney who put their foot on the gas first as Shaun Bruce – who went scoreless in the first half – put on a shooting clinic. A 16-0 run by the Kings in the third quarter saw them jump out to a 13-point lead, 64-51.

A Mitch McCarron free throw ended the Sydney run and Landale got going late in the term to bring Melbourne back to within touch. His triple in the dying seconds of the term gave United a big boost heading into the final term, trailing by just four points, 67-63.

After coming to life in the final minutes of the third term, Landale torched the Kings in the opening stages of the final frame with a bucket off an offensive rebound and then forced Sydney into calling a time-out with a triple that gave Melbourne the lead, 69-67.

Jo Lual-Acuil Jr., who has been scoring timely buckets all game, continued that trend in the fourth, while Thomas Vodanovich came to life and dragged the Kings back into the game with his shooting.

He was hitting buckets from everywhere and when he hit a triple with four a half minutes on the clock, Sydney boasted a one-point lead, 77-76.

A huge Landale dunk gave Melbourne the lead once again, 80-79, with three minutes remaining, but Ware answered on the other end with a lay-up. Bruce then connected on another triple to give the Kings a four-point lead, 84-80 with 2:10 left to play.

Mitch McCarron, who had been doing absolutely everything all game long with stifling defence, playmaking and a touch of scoring too, took over in the final 90 seconds of regulation.

He first scored courtesy of a lay-up, before going to work in the paint to even the scores at 94 with 24 seconds to play. On the final play of regulation, Sydney had the chance to win the game, but Lual-Acuil Jr. didn’t allow that happen with a block that sent the game to overtime.

In overtime, both teams traded buckets but when Ware stole the ball which led to a Moller score on the other end, Sydney led by two points, 90-88, with two minutes on the clock.

McCarron once again came up in the clutch with a floater that levelled the scores with a minute remaining. In a frantic final minute, neither team was able to break the deadlock as the game headed to double overtime.

Moller helped Sydney to a four-point lead, 94-90, after two minutes of play in the second overtime, but Goulding replied with a jump shot and when Ili – who had been an absolute menace on defence – hit a triple halfway through the period, Melbourne had jumped back in front, 95-94.

Bruce connected from long-range with just under two minutes on the clock to see the Kings regain the lead, 97-95, but once again scores were tied when McDaniel got into the lane and finished nicely.

A Ware assist to Moller for lay-up had Qudos Bank Arena in hysterics as their team led by two points with 45 seconds remaining. Ultimately, that proved to be the difference as Melbourne was unable to answer that bucket down the stretch and Sydney came away with a 100-97 win in an extraordinary contest.

Landale (23 points, 12 rebounds and 2 blocks) and Goulding (16 points) led the scoring for Untied, while McCarron (9 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists) fell just short of a triple-double in a wonderful performance. Ili, Hopson and Peatling all scored 11 points for Melbourne, while Lual-Acuil Jr. chipped in with 10 points.

Bruce (21 points, 7 assists and 4 rebounds), Ware (16 points and 5 assists) and Vodanovich (13 points) led the way for Sydney.

Despite the loss, Melbourne remains on top of the ladder with a 25-8 record. United will look to return to the winners list on Monday night when they face the Taipans in a game that has been relocated to Qudos Bank Arena due to Victoria’s COVID-19 lockdown.