Mitsubishi Match Recap: Hungry Jack’s NBL26 - Round 16, Game 2 v Sydney Kings

Melbourne United have fallen short on the road, going down to the Sydney Kings on Sunday evening.

Melbourne got off to a perfect start to the game, feeding Jesse Edwards in the post for a score to set the tone.

Finn Delany followed this up with a layup of his own before Edwards ran the floor to throw down his first dunk of the evening.

Runners from Milton Doyle and Edwards continued this interior attack, opening up opportunities for Chris Goulding togo to work from deep.

Goulding splashed back-to-back triples, putting United ahead by as many as seven points, before working his way to the hoop for an acrobatic finish.

Late in the term, Edwards provided another huge highlight, collecting an offensive rebound for an emphatic dunk.

Hot shooting from the Kings ensured the home side would go ahead at the first break, leading 23-26.

Like United had in the opening period, they made Edwards a focal point on offence.

The big man was everywhere across the second, crashing the glass and throwing down dunks to bring his total to 16points.

Three-pointers from Goulding, Delany and Tanner Krebs kept Melbourne in touching distance with Sydney, who continued to score efficiently.

It was the Kings that maintained the lead to close the half, holding on to a 48-56 advantage.

Aiming to cut into the margin quickly,United’s stars stepped up.

Edwards went upstairs for a sky-scraping alley-oop jam, which he followed up on the next possession with an offensive rebound and dunk.

A Walker layup cut the Sydney lead to two points, however they were able to answer, orchestrating a 7-0 run of their own.

Edwards brought that run to an end with an and-one finish through contact, however the Kings pushed back ahead by 10points.

Needing a spark, Krebs knocked down a three, which Walker emulated on the following possession before finished a bucket through contact to make it a four-point game.

A late score from Sydney set United’s target to chase down at 73-79.

In an incredibly tight fourth quarter, the game would ultimately come down to the wire.

Three-balls from Goulding, Delany and Krebs kept United in the hunt up until the final seconds, where after a forced shot-clock violation, Melbourne had one final chance to tie up the game.

Having knocked down five threes in the game, the shot went to Goulding, who got a good look that unfortunately didn’t fall, ending the game at 94-97.

Melbourne United will next take the court in Perth as part of Hoopsfest when the team goes up against the TasmaniaJackJumpers from 9:30pm on 17 January.