Three points and fouls in Perth’s favour, had the Wildcats up by five early before a jump shot from Denzel Valentine put the Kings on the board. Jaylen Adams followed but fouls soon gave the Wildcats a 10-point advantage.
Angus Glover and Shaun Bruce came up with three but the Kings closed the first down by 14 (34-20).
Adams opened the second on a three-point play ahead of fouls in the purple and gold’s favour, before an and-one from Kouat Noi closed the gap to seven.
Contributions from Jaylin Galloway, Jordan Hunter and Makuach Maluach closed the gap up to just three and Valentine saw the board tied before Perth went one up by one just before half-time.
Sydney entered the final quarter down by two and it was a catfight until the end, with fouls in Perth’s favour, marking the end of the game and the Kings’ six-point loss.
Adams was once again the high man for the Kings, finishing with 29 points, two assists and one steal.
Maluach was the other standout, injecting 18 points off the bench – including three triples, to go with his four boards and one steal.
Hunter finished with 15 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks.
The fifth-placed Kings next travel to Victoria to take on the South East Melbourne Phoenix at the State Basketball Centre from 7.30pm on Thursday.
Kings unable to tame Wildcats
THEIR first loss to the Perth Wildcats since 2021, the Sydney Kings’ comeback attempt fell short on Sunday afternoon, going down 104-98, at Qudos Bank Arena.
