And it was two of their bench players that led the way.

Veteran big man Daniel Kickert paced the Kings with a season-high 18 points, while import DeShon Taylor also had a career night with 15.

However the victory was soured by a suspected leg injury to NBA draftee Didi Louzada, who limped off midway through the final quarter.

Phoenix star John Roberson had a game-high 23 points, but it wasn't enough to prevent his side from slumping to a fourth loss in five games.

Little separated both teams in a high-octane opening quarter before the Kings upped the ante by pounding the paint in the second period.

The Phoenix allowed the Kings to waltz to the rim at will, with 40 of Sydney's 59 first-half points coming inside the restricted area.

Only the play of Phoenix pair and Mitch Creek and Roberson, who combined for 28 their team's 47 first-half points, limited the Kings to a 12-point half-time lead.

South-East Melbourne threatened to make it a contest when Roberson nailed three consecutive bombs early in the third quarter to get within five.

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Then Sydney responded with a long-range barrage of their own.

The Kings connected on five of their 10 attempts for the period, including three from Taylor, and a buzzer-beating bomb from Kickert, for a 17-point lead.

And despite the Phoenix making a couple of pushes in the final quarter, Sydney held firm for a well-deserved victory in front of a home crowd of 10,070.

AAP