“A lot of it was probably people playing out of position. But at the same time, we had our chances, we just got to be better down the stretch.”

DJ Vasiljevic was firing for the Kings in the opening quarter scoring 11 points on four of four shooting as the visitors took a 29-22 lead with the margin extended when 50th gamer Tom Vodanovich made a three-pointer on the buzzer.

With Kings NBA import guard Jaylen Adams firing, the Phoenix were searching for a line-up that worked and a defence to match with import guard Xavier Mumford out along with fellow guards Kyle Adnam and Cam Gliddon who were all in the COVID-19 protocols as is coach Simon Mitchell.

The Phoenix were so low on guards they suited-up assistant coach and two-time Olympian Adam Gibson but he didn’t come off the bench.

Amazingly development guard Lachlan Barker (14 points) proved to be a lynch pin for the side starting and playing the bulk of the first half as the Phoenix went to a 1-3-1 zone which threw the Kings out of their offence and allowed the home side to storm back into the game as they tied scores.

But the Kings again edged ahead with Adams making a steal and lay-up right on the half-time buzzer for a 43-39 lead.

The Phoenix went back to basics to start the second half playing through superstar forward Mitch Creek and he delivered with 10 quick points as his side took a slim lead but Adams, Jarrel Martin and Xavier Cooks were all firing to keep the Kings in charge.

The home side’s one advantage was offensive rebounds where the size of Zhou Qi, Brandon Ashley and Dane Pineau had a size advantage but their defence wasn’t getting enough stops to make the most of it as Sydney led 64-62 going into the last quarter.

Cooks fired early in the fourth and Martin followed his lead with his three taking the lead to 74-67 with six minutes to play.

Ryan Broekhoff’s final term scoring spree cut the lead to three with a minute to play but Adams came up with a steal and Angus Glover nailed a corner three to finish it.

The Phoenix need their full roster back and hope they can begin against Tasmania JackJumpers on Sunday while the Kings are firing again and at 7-7 [win-loss] are suddenly back on the verge of the top four.

While Cooks and Adams are flying, so will the Kings and they will look to add another win against Brisbane Bullets at Qudos Bank Arena on Sunday.