NBL
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Sydney Kings crush NZ Breakers for first win

NBL

Andrew Bogut took great heart from a mighty all-round shooting performance as the Sydney Kings claimed their first win of the NBL season in a 101-78 thrashing of the New Zealand Breakers.

Former NBA centre Bogut ruled the paint and his teammates were also in sync as they dominated their hosts, who were stagnant at both ends of their Auckland home court.

Coming off twin losses to the Adelaide 36ers, the vaunted Kings roster was staring at the possibility of a 0-3 start to the season, which would have been the club's worst for 27 years.

Instead they shot at 60 per cent from the field - the first time they've done so since 2004 - with six players in double digits, leaving the Breakers to digest an unwelcome record of four straight losses at Spark Arena for the first time.

Bogut contributed 13 points, eight rebounds, four blocks and four assists - showcasing his all-round quality.

The 33-year-old led the league through the first two rounds in rebounds and blocks but on Sunday the team combined brilliantly, providing multiple headaches for the hosts.

Captain Kevin Lisch netted 19 points while Jerome Randle, Dominic Wear and Kyle Adnam had 15 each and Brian Bowen 11.

Bogut, who described Sydney's two previous performances as "dismal", said the shared nature of the scoring pleased him more than anything.

"That's fantastic. If we can get through the season doing that, we're a good chance of being very, very good," he said.

"You can't really scout a team that has that type of balance."

Their defensive ploy to focus on sharpshooter Corey Webster worked perfectly, with the temperamental Breakers guard restricted to six points on woeful two-from-11 shooting.

"... with a guy like Webster, we really locked in on trying not to give him shots from the perimeter because we know he starts their offence almost every possession," Bogut said.

The result leaves both teams with one win and two losses but in a contrasting space.

Tai Wesley, who scored 25 in the Breakers' upset win at defending champions Melbourne United, was again a game-high scorer with 22.

Captain Tom Abercrombie said the Breakers were guilty of opening the door to opponents searching for confidence.

"We were terrible defensively," he said.

"We gave them easy ones early which got their confidence going. Then they started making tough ones.

"We've got to take a good hard look at ourselves right now."

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