Without either Cooks and Walton Jr for the majority of the contest, Justin Simon stepped up and produced one of the all-time great defensive playoff performances.
Dejan Vasiljevic scored first making it 3-0 and the Kings’ tough defence allowed their lead to grow to six (9-3) in the first quarter. The Breakers’ mounting foul count handed the Kings numerous chances to extend their lead, which Kouat Noi, Jaylin Galloway and Cooks made the most of.
Late free-throws by Shaun Bruce gave the Kings a 34-30 lead at half-time.
The second half saw a phenomenal effort on both ends of the floor by Simon, including a buzzer-beating triple which then had Chase Buford’s side move out to a 10-point lead (48-38) and then 57-41 at three-quarter-time.
The hard slog continued in the fourth, with the Kings’ defence and clutch shots by Glover and Vasiljevic keeping the lead beyond 10 and then free-throws from Glover, sealed the courageous victory.
The Kings, who are now all tied up 1-1 in the NBL23 Grand Final, return to Sydney for game three of the Championship Series this Friday, March 10, at Qudos Bank Arena from 7.15pm.
