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Didi Louzada in action during the Kings' thrilling win over the Taipans. 
Photo by Jaimi Joy/Getty Images
Ware was ablaze early and irresistible late on Saturday in smoking 40 points, the best haul of his outstanding career and the NBL's highest individual tally this season.
The superstar American point guard drained four three-pointers inside the first five minutes to spark the Kings' 23-5 headstart and three treys in as many minutes in the fourth term to bail the hosts out of trouble, after they fell behind by six points.
"I'm proud now but pretty angry at the time when we blew an 18-point lead," Sydney coach Adam Forde said.

Shyla Heal will join the Chicago Sky as pick number eight in WNBA draft
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Shyla Heal leaves the WNBL'S Townsville Fire for the WNBA.
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Shyla Heal, the daughter of Australian basketball great Shane Heal, is headed to the WNBA after being taken by Chicago Sky with pick eight at the draft.
Key points:
She debuted in the WNBL at the age of 14
The now 19-year-old has played for South East Queensland Stars, Perth Lynx , Bendigo Spirit and Townsville Fire during her time in the WNBL
The 19-year-old guard's first-round selection follows her standout WNBL season with Townsville Fire.

Bryce Cotton produced a second-half masterclass, capped by an outrageous three-pointer on the full-time buzzer, to spark the Perth Wildcats to a gripping 85-79 overtime victory over the New Zealand Breakers at the Silverdome.
Cotton, the NBL MVP favourite, overcame a scoreless opening term on Tuesday -- on the back of a poor game against Adelaide last Saturday -- to smoke 26 of his game-high 31 points after halftime.
His brilliant performance featured a freakish off-balance, double-pump three-pointer to force overtime, which he dominated.
"We had a timeout left and the other guys knew the play and executed the play great (wth 1.7 seconds left in the final quarter)," Perth coach Trevor Gleeson said. "BC with the double-pump, it looked like it might have been going a bit short, but we'll take it."

Red-hot Phoenix keep rolling in NBL
South East Melbourne Phoenix have maintained their status as one of the hottest teams in the NBL with a 92-85 victory over New Zealand Breakers.
The Phoenix gave up a 17-point lead before outplaying the Breakers in the final quarter of Sunday's clash at John Cain Arena to earn a sixth win from their last seven games.
The win puts them two games clear of Sydney and Illawarra in third spot on the ladder, behind leaders Perth and Melbourne United.
Yannick Wetzell of the Phoenix drives to the basket during the Round 12 NBL match between the South East Melbourne Phoenix and the New Zealand Breakers. 

Bryce Cotton produced another stellar clutch performance to continue Perth Wildcats' stranglehold over arch-nemesis Sydney Kings with a tough 95-89 victory at RAC Arena.
The two-time defending champions trailed by two points at the last break on Thursday before the NBL's leading scorer and MVP Cotton scored 12 of his 22 points in a scintillating fourth quarter.
John Mooney continued his strong form with 20 points and 11 rebounds, while Todd Blanchfield poured in 18 points.
Kings talisman Casper Ware scored 27 points and played tenacious defence to stymie Cotton for much of the physical contest until fouls limited his impact late, while Jarell Martin (25 points and 11 rebounds) battled hard.

NBL: New Zealand Breakers, Brisbane Bullets make roster moves
The morning after the inaugural NBL Cup came to an end, two teams decided to make significant changes to their respective rosters.
New Zealand Breakers parted ways with import wing Lamar Patterson, with the team then signing Levi Randolph to fill that vacant position.
Randolph, a 6'6 wing who last played in the NBA G-League, signed a two-year deal, with a team option on the second season.
Over in Brisbane, the Bullets parted ways with import guard Orlando Johnson.
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Patterson then signed with the Bullets, sources said, filling the vacant spot left by Johnson and rejoining the team he excelled at from 2018 to 2020.

“The NBL and South East Melbourne Phoenix are deeply concerned by the nature of the charges."

Josh Giddey, Australian basketball's next big thing, is set to jump from the NBL to the NBA
SatSaturday 13
Josh Giddey has caught the eye of NBA scouts.
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Giddey has been earmarked as one of Australia's next basketball superstars.
In his debut season in the NBL the 18-year-old has already shown why NBA teams are watching him so closely ahead of this year's draft, and the impressive Melbourne-born teenager could well be heading to the Tokyo Olympics to represent his country in July.
There's a lot of hype, but experts and those closest to him say it is justified.

Phoenix swoop to finish second in NBL Cup
South East Melbourne Phoenix have stormed home to finish the NBL Cup competition in second spot following a 103-89 victory over the New Zealand Breakers.
The Phoenix took out all four quarters at John Cain Arena on Sunday to claim a third win in the space of five days and rise above the Brisbane Bullets and Melbourne United, collecting $100,000 in prizemoney as runner-up to the Perth Wildcats.
Kyle Adnam was on fire against the Breakers. 
Photo by Daniel Pockett/Getty Images
Mitch Creek and Kyle Adnam each scored 21 points and Ben Moore made eight of his nine shots to finish on 17, while Ryan Broekhoff played nine minutes in his second NBL appearance before sitting out most of the second half with hamstring soreness.

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McDowell-White will fill the vacant spot on the Breakers' roster left by Rob Loe, who returned home to New Zealand for "personal reasons" in February.
McDowell-White, a 6'5 combo guard, was recently named to Brian Goorjian's 24-man Australian Boomers squad, and has attended training camp with the Houston Rockets over the past two seasons.
The signing is a return to the NBL for McDowell-White, who played the first season of his professional career with the Sydney Kings in 2016.
William McDowell-White will join the New Zealand Breakers. 
Juan Ocampo/NBAE via Getty Images
McDowell-White, a native of Queensland, will join a Breakers team that has been on the road for the entirety of the 2021 season; a circumstance that isn't expected to change. Coached by Dan Shamir, the Breakers currently sit in the eighth spot on the NBL ladder with a 4-7 record.

The Golden State Warriors have sent a scout to Australia to oversee the progress being made by draftee Justinian Jessup, sources have told ESPN.

NBL Cup: Sydney Kings hold off South East Melbourne Phoenix
Sydney Kings remain in contention for the NBL Cup after lifting in the second half to defeat South East Melbourne Phoenix 91-85.
The Kings came back from eight points down at John Cain Arena on Saturday night to snap a two-game losing run and extend their unbeaten record against the Phoenix to five matches.
Sydney entered Saturday's clash without a victory against a team currently in the top four, or having held on to win a close game, but achieved both goals thanks to 19 points from Dejan Vasiljevic and a double-double from Casper Ware (11 points, 10 rebounds).

Melbourne United down Brisbane Breakers in NBL Cup thriller
Melbourne United have set a franchise record as they extended their barnstorming start to the NBL season with a tough 87-84 victory over New Zealand Breakers.
United outscored the Breakers in three of the four quarters during Friday's clash at John Cain Arena on their way to notching their best start to a season after 11 games with a 10-1 win-loss record.
The individual brilliance of guard Tai Webster kept the Breakers in the contest but Jock Landale (23 points) and Mitch McCarron (17 points, seven assists, seven rebounds) guided Melbourne home in a tense finish.

New Zealand Breakers to set up NBL home in Tasmania
The New Zealand Breakers are set to play home games out of Launceston later this season as their nomadic NBL existence continues.
The Breakers have been in Australia since late last year. They were first based in Melbourne before a move to Hobart, and then returned to Melbourne for the ongoing NBL Cup.
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It is hoped COVID-19 restrictions will ease and they will be able to return to play in New Zealand later this season, but in the meantime Launceston's Silverdome will be home for up to six games from next month.

The New Zealand Breakers have produced a record-breaking first-half onslaught to set up a 106-62 thrashing of the Adelaide 36ers in the NBL Cup.
Adelaide entered Saturday's contest at John Cain Arena aiming to improve on their slow starts, after falling behind 36-10 in a loss to Melbourne United two nights earlier.
But New Zealand blew the Sixers off the court with a 32-6 start to set a league record for the largest first-quarter lead in a 40-minute game.
The Breakers increased their advantage to 30 points at the main break, creating a club record for the biggest halftime lead, before going on to become the first team to earn maximum points in the NBL Cup by winning all four quarters.

Bryce Cotton sets gaze on Boomers and the Tokyo Olympics after lodging Australian citizenship papers
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Bryce Cotton is a two-time NBA MVP with Perth.
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The National Basketball League's best player, Bryce Cotton, says he's honoured to even be considered a chance of playing for the Australian Boomers at this year's Olympic Games.
Key points:
America-born Cotton said becoming eligible for the Boomers was a "pleasant" surprise
Cotton currently leads the NBL in points, and is second in assists and steals
The American is a step closer to becoming a citizen, after receiving a Distinguished Talent Visa on Tuesday, and lodging citizenship paperwork this week.

The Illawarra Hawks have chalked up their first win in the NBL Cup after easing past a disappointing New Zealand Breakers to record a 102-88 victory.

NBL Commissioner Jeremy Loeliger has revealed a bold ambition to take the NBL Cup overseas as a talent showcase in future seasons amid growing interest from NBA scouts.
The inaugural competition-within-a-competition tips off on Saturday, with all nine NBL clubs featuring in a total of 36 games over three weeks in a Melbourne hub.
The NBL Cup concept, which forms part of the National Basketball League's regular season, was spawned from the league's desire to churn out a large portion of games in quick succession amid the looming threat of further coronavirus disruptions.
One positive spin-off has been the attention the basketball bonanza has already garnered in the United States.

Our Roundtable is back to answer some of those burning questions.
Currently at 6-0 going into the hub, is Melbourne United far and away the best team in the NBL?
Olgun Uluc: They really are. At a risk of sounding like a broken record, United just has so many top-tier pieces to be a contender, but then boast near-perfect role players to make them the title favourite.
When healthy, United just has too many weapons, and the chemistry seems to be at a point where everyone knows his role going into each game. But then, even in their game against the Hawks - where they were missing Chris Goulding, Shea Ili, and Jo Lual Acuil Jr. - they could then lean on the likes of Mitch McCarron and Jock Landale to be their superstars. Those two players have taken a step back, relative to their ceiling, for the betterment of the team; as much as the talent makes them the favourites to win it all, that type of selflessness is what clearly separates them from the pack.

NBL Commissioner Jeremy Loeliger has revealed a bold ambition to take the NBL Cup overseas as a talent showcase in future seasons amid growing interest from NBA scouts.

South East Melbourne Phoenix have ramped up their pursuit of a maiden NBL title with the signing of Boomers star Ryan Broekhoff for the remainder of the season.
Broekhoff will suit up for the Phoenix towards the end of the NBL Cup, it is hoped, with the 30-year-old sharpshooter currently in Michigan with his family. They will need to clear quarantine once they return to Australia.
Broekhoff has spent the past couple of seasons in the NBA at Dallas Mavericks, before he was then signed and waived by the Philadelphia 76ers, paving the way for his return home.
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A fourth-quarter explosion from Casper Ware has helped the Sydney Kings celebrate their return home with a 84-74 NBL victory over the New Zealand Breakers.
With the Kings forced to spend their first six games in Queensland due to COVID-19 restrictions, Ware looked rusty on his home court when he missed seven of his opening eight shots on Friday night.
Breakers star Corey Webster, who had a game-high 25 points, looked set to spoil the Kings' welcome-home party by steering his team to a five-point lead midway through the final quarter.
But Ware showed why he's still considered one of the league's showstoppers, reeling off eight points and assisting on another key bucket to power the Kings down the stretch.

Hawke's Bay Hawks go for Chance to solve coaching issues
12 Feb, 2021 12:41 AM
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New Hawks head coach Jacob Chance. Photo / File
Hawkes Bay Today
Hawke's Bay national basketball league hopefuls the Taylor Hawks have appointed a new coaching team after previously appointed coach Adam Forde's decision to go with the Sydney Kings in the Australian NBL.
One of the
most promising coaches in Australia, Forde was appointed head coach at the Hawks last July, when he was reported to have already been in contact with players to discuss their goals and aspirations.
In December it was announced he had been made head coach of the Kings, where he had previously been involved as an assistant.

The Hawks will take the court for the first time this season with Illawarra on club singlets after meeting the NBL's membership demands.