Davis scores 32 as Sydney hand Melbourne their first loss of the season in Matthew Dellavedova's revenge game

Written by Lachlan Sherriff

(Graham Denholm/Getty Images)

With Melbourne United now at 9-0 after their first nine games, it'd be fair to say that players around the league would love to beat them.

But if you had to pick one player who wanted to make United taste defeat the most, it'd be hard to look past Matthew Dellavedova, who left Melbourne for the Sydney Kings over the offseason.

It wouldn't be the first time Dellavedova took on Melbourne in Sydney colours, as the Kings lost 107-93 to United in early October. It would, however, be the first time he returned to John Cain Arena to play Melbourne United. And the crowd made their feelings known immediately.

Dellavedova may have been receiving boos around the stadium, but the Kings didn't seem to mind, as they were on top for most of the first quarter. Xavier Cooks started hot, with Sydney's first four points and six of their first eight, while Kendric Davis had nine points by the end of the first quarter, which Sydney won 30-25.

It took Dellavedova a while to get going, but he did hit a big three to silence the crowd towards the end of the first quarter. And he didn't stop there.

Dellavedova hit two more threes early in the second quarter, and you could've heard a pin drop in John Cain Arena when they went in.

(Graham Denholm/Getty Images)

Thankfully for United fans, Finn Delany and Tyson Walker gave them something to cheer about with eleven points each in the first half, while Walker also had four assists.

At the other end of the floor, Kendric Davis had fifteen points, while Xavier Cooks had nine points and four assists. As for Dellavedova, he was keeping himself busy as he contributed in multiple ways with nine points, four assists and three rebounds, helping Sydney lead 54-50 at half time.

The third quarter would go down as another successful one for Sydney, as Kendric Davis scored eleven points, taking his total to 26, and giving Sydney a 77-69 lead. With only ten minutes left, Melbourne United were looking in serious danger of losing their first game of the season.

But in classic Melbourne United fashion, they battled back. Milton Doyle led the comeback with five points in the first half of the final quarter, and suddenly we had a tied game with just under five minutes left. 

And when Tyson Walker finished on a contact layup to give Melbourne United their first lead of the second half, the crowd exploded.

Of course, Kendric Davis wouldn't let his team go down that easily, and quickly responded with a three pointer to give Sydney an 88-87 lead, taking his tally for the night to 32 points.

Following Davis' three, Melbourne United would never see the lead again - but it could've been very different.

With time winding down and Melbourne down by one point, Milton Doyle dumped the ball off to Jesse Edwards under the ring, who was fouled.

Two made free throws would have given Melbourne the lead. But shockingly, Edwards missed not one, but both of his shots from the foul line.

From there, Kendric Davis iced the game out with two free throws before Milton Doyle got blocked on a shot that would've sent the game to overtime. And just like that, Melbourne United had lost their first game of the season.

Kendric Davis was the hero of the night with 32 points, while Bul Kuol had his best game of the season, shooting seventeen points without missing a shot. Dellavedova didn't score much in the second half, ending with twelve points, but with seven assists and five rebounds, he certainly played his role.

Tyson Walker was superb once again, with 22 points, nine rebounds and five assists, while Milton Doyle also scored the ball well, ending with nineteen points. But it wasn't enough.

It was a heartbreaking ending for everyone involved with Melbourne United, especially Jesse Edwards. But coach Dean Vickerman has full faith in Edwards bouncing back from such a cruel moment. 

“He'll be fine. He's an improving free-throw shooter and we try and replicate moments in practice for people to go on to that. I love that Milton got in the lane and did all the right things. Does he make a floater, does he make the pass? He made that decision and (we) back Jesse next time in the game to go and knock those in.”

- Dean Vickerman on Jesse Edwards

Then there was the elephant in the room - the booing of Matthew Dellavedova.

“I never think booing is a good thing, especially for a guy that gave everything for our club. So I certainly didn't enjoy that.”

- Dean Vickerman on the booing of Matthew Dellavedova

As for Sydney's coach Brian Goorjian, he seemed to have a much more positive view on the booing of his point guard.

“I was pumped, because usually it's me (getting booed) when we go places. So it's nice to have somebody else. But what I like is to come (to) the NBL right now and coming into environments like this. My speech, I didn't talk about Delly at all coming into this or the crowd or (anything) other than this is why we practice. I want to take risks, free spirit. I'm excited about this. Enjoy this and go into the competition, communication, huddle, talking, high fives, live bench. Don't even look at the scoreboard. So the Delly thing wasn't discussed.”

- Brian Goorjian on the booing of Matthew Dellavedova

As for Dellavedova’s teammate Tim Soares, he gave the simplest answer of all.

“I hope they boo him again.”

- Tim Soares on the booing of Matthew Dellavedova

Sydney will travel back home to take on the New Zealand Breakers in their next game, while Melbourne United hit the road to take on Illawarra on Wednesday.