Goulding fires as United hold off NBL rival Kings
Melbourne United sharpshooter Chris Goulding has spearheaded his side’s first-half demolition of the Sydney Kings’ league-best defence in a tense 101-98 NBL win at home.
In a contest free of the controversy that marred United’s previous outing at John Cain Arena – when an ugly stoush unfolded between courtside fans and visiting Adelaide 36ers players – Goulding was the star.
The 36-year-old drained 6-of-10 three-pointers on his way to a game-high 28 points, continuing a run of red-hot form that he put together before the FIBA break.
In doing so, he drew level with NBL great Lanard Copeland in fifth place on the league’s list of threes made with 1,242 – still well behind all-time leader Andrew Gaze (1,826).
Shea Ili (18 points) and Rob Loe (15) were also important, as was Jack White (13 points, 12 rebounds) on return from a calf injury.
United put up 65 points in the first half and led by 16 early in the third, but didn’t have it all their own way.
Next Star Alex Toohey (16 points) led an influential Sydney bench that powered a huge second-half fightback, with the visitors drawing level several times in the final period.
Cam Oliver (21 points, six rebounds, six steals) also had a say and Jaylen Adams (10 points) twice tied the game with three-pointers in the final 100 seconds.
But with scores locked at 98-98 and time running out, Adams turned the ball over with an eight-second violation.
Ili was fouled on the next play and hit one of his two free throws, before Kings captain Shaun Bruce missed a three-point attempt.
United’s Ian Clark knocked down two free-throws with 3.6 seconds on the clock and Izaya Le’afa missed a hurried three-point attempt to tie the game in the dying seconds.
The result kept Melbourne (11-4) in first place, while Sydney (8-7) sit in a log-jam for post-season spots at the halfway point of the campaign.
Melbourne fans quickly latched onto Oliver as their villain after a heavy foul on Rob Loe in the opening period and both sides were happy to pull the trigger from long range from the outset.
Goulding nailed three triples in the opening period but Sydney led 28-27 at quarter-time after Tyler Robertson sunk a full-court heave on the buzzer.
The second quarter was all Melbourne, as the hosts rode 70 per cent field-goal shooting to a 65-49 lead at halftime, with Goulding’s personal tally swelling to 20.
Toohey and Sydney’s bench had an influence as the visitors trimmed a 16-point deficit back to three in the third term.
A triple from Bruce (12 points) tied the game at 83-83 with more than six minutes left to play, setting up a tense finish.
Emotion got the better of Kings coach Brian Goorjian, who was hit with a technical foul when he voiced his displeasure over a foul call in the final few minutes.
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