Brian Goorjian is starting to see the Sydney Kings deliver on their much-discussed potential after a 93-81 NBL win over the in-form Brisbane Bullets.
The Kings entered the season with high expectations to match their star-studded roster, only to initially struggle for chemistry in Goorjian's first season back as coach.
But superstar duo Jaylen Adams and Xavier Cooks forged their most fruitful combination of the season on Sunday as the Kings silenced the visitors in a game-defining 27-8 fourth quarter.
Ex-NBA guard Adams produced his season-high 32 points at Qudos Bank Arena, capping a brilliant afternoon with a buzzer-beating three-pointer, his fourth triple of the game.
Fan favourite Cooks (25 points, 11 rebounds) came up with the eighth double-double of his first season back in the NBL.
The pair combined on a 15-2 run either side of quarter time that neutralised the Bullets' strong start, before coming alive again in the final period, which featured 11 of Adams' points.
Sydney have now won three of their past four games and finish the round in third place on the ladder with a 10-7 record.
The Kings play six of their next eight games at home as they look to validate the pre-season hype with consistent performances.
"I'm not listening to hoorah, all that stuff," Goorjian said.
"I'm not even thinking about winning, I'm thinking about how we go about our day-to-day, making sure we stick to the standards and it's going to take us some place. I'm starting to see little pieces of it.Â
"Tonight, there was a lot of trouble offensively and we've been that all year but we did have some good patches. Defensively, we keep moving."
The resurgent Bullets shot imperiously for the first three quarters and took a seven-point lead into the final change, looking primed to march to their fifth win from six games.
Red-hot American import Casey Prather led the charge with 28 points including five three-pointers.
But Brisbane lost their mojo from deep in the final quarter, missing all eight of their attempts from beyond the arc and finding themselves short of answers to pierce the Kings' front court.
Kings veteran Shaun Bruce had no such problems, hitting a corner three-pointer early in the final term to restore Sydney's lead and force a Bullets timeout.
The Kings never trailed after that.
"A few shots drop in that last quarter and I think we feel totally different about this one so we won't let it take us totally off course of the growth that we've had," said Bullets coach Justin Schueller.
Brisbane's loss means they remain outside the top six to finish round 12 but Prather felt confident his side would bounce back against the Cairns Taipans on Friday.
"I don't think one L is going to disrupt us from continuing to be better. I think everybody is hungry, everybody wants to continue to get better and that's going to propel us forward," Prather said.
The Bullets are hopeful of having Josh Bannan back from his ankle injury to face Cairns but veteran Jarred Bairstow will miss the remainder of the season after surgery for his own ankle issue.
