Down goes the ball as Sam Young dunks for Sydney against Melbourne. Photo: Getty Images
Sam Young's NBL debut was a fizzer. Game two told a very different story.
Sydney's highest-profile recruit in club history scored 14 points against the Wildcats last weekend in Perth when the Kings copped a 43-point hiding.
Young made amends in Melbourne on Sunday, dominating the Tigers at both ends of the floor as Sydney got back on a winning track with a 67-63 victory.
Sydney Kings import Sam Young dunks over Tigers veteran Mark Worthington in Melbourne. Photo: Getty Images
The former Memphis, Philadelphia and Indiana forward stared the match with a couple of mid-range jump shots but the Kings trailed 11-6 midway through the first quarter.
Young then peeled off a couple of spectacular slams, including a gravity-defying put-back dunk, as the visitors went on a 24-0 run to establish early dominance.
After leading 40-30 at half-time, the Kings went to sleep in the third quarter, scoring just seven points to hold a 47-44 lead heading into the final term.
The Tigers drew level midway through the third term and with two minutes remaining, it was still a deadlock at 62-62.
Young's on-court presence down the stretch, highlighted by a strong drive to the basket and another spin move in the paint which yielded another two points, helped Sydney kick again and close out the victory.
He finished with a game-high 27 points and 10 rebounds to be the difference between the two sides and lift Sydney to a 5-4 record for the season.
Charles Carmouche looked more comfortable in his second match running the point since the departure of fellow import Jesse Sanders, tallying 14 points, while centre AJ Ogilvy put in a much better performance after the Perth debacle, 10 points and 12 rebounds to go with four blocks.
A worrying sign for coach Shane Heal was Ben Madgen, normally a prolific scorer, was quiet for a second straight week, notching only three points on 1/6 shooting.
Chris Goulding (20) and Scott Morrison (20) were the standouts for the Tigers. Recent recruit Mustapha Farrakhan, who was close to a contract with the LA Cliippers in the NBA pre-season before getting cut, still looks like he's getting settled at Melbourne, registering six points in 20 minutes on the court.
Young will play his third straight road match for his new team on Saturday when Sydney travel to Wollongong before Kings fans finally get to see him strut his stuff at the Kingdome the following Saturday against the Hawks.
Poll: Will the Perth Wildcats win the NBL trophy in 2013-14?
- Yes - nothing can stop them now
57%
- No - they will again fade out in the finals
43%
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