Mitsubishi Match Recap: NBL25 Round 10 v Sydney Kings

Melbourne United have outlasted the Sydney Kings at home for their fourth consecutive win.

In the midst of one of the hottest shooting stretches of his career, Chris Goulding got off to a perfect start to the game, cashing in from deep for the contest’s opening score.

This was one of three long-range United’s captain connected on in the first frame.

With CG43 demanding so much attention on the perimetre, Melbourne’s other stars thrived in the paint, with Rob Loe, Jack White, Tanner Krebs, Kyle Bowen and Ian Clark all registering buckets.

The Kings however were able to match United’s scoring output, ultimately taking a 27-28 lead on a three-quarter court buzzer-beating heave from Tyler Robertson.

After early free-throws from Loe and Goulding, Melbourne’s offence went supernova. in the second quarter.

Across the period United went six for seven from downtown, going ahead by as many as 18 points as the Kings struggled to find answers.

Much of this was fuelled by Goulding, who increased his tally to 20 points on some tremendous shot-making.

At the defensive end, Loe and Marcus Lee patrolled the paint, swatting shots when the visitors dared enter the paint.

This allowed United to take a 65-49 advantage into the major break.

For much of the third quarter, Sydney were able to flip the script, playing with pace and capitalising on opportunities at both ends.

Needing to bounce back, Shea Ili worked hard to get to the free-throw line, slowing the game down and keeping the home side in front by four points heading into the final term.

With the game up for grabs, the fourth quarter turned into a shootout.

Each side came up with big plays; trading threes and big buckets across the entire period.

Having trailed for all but 13 seconds of the game, the Kings did their all to push back in front, tying the game with less than 5 minutes remaining.

In search of a steadier, Ili and Goulding shined, with the former getting all the way to the hoop for an and-one finish and the latter knocking down his sixth three-pointer of the game.

This, as well as a dunk from Loe and timely free throws from Ian Clark, iced the game for Melbourne, who finished with a 101-98 victory.

This is United’s fourth consecutive win and keeps the side on top of the NBL ladder.

Melbourne will be back at home next Sunday for a 2:30pm matchup with the Brisbane Bullets.

Tickets are available here.