NBL24 Blitz: Melbourne United vs Sydney Kings WWAG Recap

Melbourne United have won their third and final game of the NBL Blitz, finishing with a 18-point victory over the Sydney Kings.

While the Kings may have gotten on the board first, a pair of Luke Travers and-1 finishes at the basket gave United the early momentum.

Melbourne’s stars continued to deliver highlights across the opening 10 minutes including a huge Ariel Hukporti dunk, a trio of threes from Chris Goulding and a big-time Travers dunk in traffic.

Creating many of these opportunities was the creation of Shea Ili, who registered five assists in the quarter while delivering his usual brand of lockdown defence.

His fellow kiwis Rob Loe and Flynn Cameron put together strong performances of their own, getting on the scoreboard quickly before another Travers dunk gave United a 32-28 lead to close the period.

Wanting to continue rolling, Matthew Dellavedova made his presence known to start the second, scoring five quick points.

Despite this, Sydney found their groove, going on a 10-0 run before some slick plays from Loe and CG43 tied the game back up.

In what was turning into a high-scoring affair, Tanner Krebs got himself in the thick of the action, tallying eight points in the quarter as each team looked to wrestle away the upper hand.

After a frantic final 30 seconds of action featuring another Big A dunk and an awesome and-1 finish from Delly, Melbourne pulled back ahead, taking a 58-57 advantage into half time.

After a frantic second term, United absolutely turned it on in the third quarter.

Shea Ili got MU going with a high layup over the outstretched arms of Jordan Hunter before Ariel Hukporti went sky high to snatch Kuot Noi’s dunk attempt.

United just kept on rolling following this, with just about the entire team getting on the scoreboard across a 19-2 run.

While Melbourne’s scoring run was impressive, so too was their defensive effort, with Travers, Ili and Dellavedova all causing havoc.

Ultimately, United outscored Sydney 36-19 leading into the final 10 minutes of action.

While Melbourne’s scoring output slowed in the final term, they continued to camp down on the Kings, forcing turnovers and limiting Sydney’s ability to execute.

Over half of MU’s fourth quarter points came from Ariel Hukporti, who finished the game with 19 points, eight rebounds and four blocks.

Despite only scoring 11 points across the last period, United ran away with the victory, bringing their NBL Blitz to an end with an undefeated 3-0 record.

The group will now head back to Melbourne to prepare for their SOLD OUT home opener against the SEM Phoenix on September 28.

Tickets for all other Melbourne United home games are available here.