'Full gauntlet': Kings survive Breakers in double overtime

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"This league has never been as competitive, and every game means so much."

– Seven-time NBL coach of the year and seven-time NBL championship head coach Brian Goorjian.

It took the greatest coach in NBL history to best sum up one of the best NBL27 games of the season: the double-overtime, big bucket-trading Sydney Kings 111-102 win against the New Zealand Breakers in Round 9 on Sunday, November 15, 2026.

Kings superstar guard Kendric Davis ($436,000) played 45:19 of the 50 minutes, delivering a season-high 36 points (14-for-28); Breakers forward Kouat Noi ($185,100), after receiving his NBL26 championship ring, poured in 32; Carlin Davison ($121,600) was a board short of a second straight triple-double: 11 points, 15 assists and nine rebounds in 43:24 minutes; Dejan Vasiljevic ($144,000) backed his 36 against the Bullets with 22 and (without looking back into the archives) picked up the first technical foul in history for tying his shoe laces.

"Leading into tonight, (New Zealand) is incredibly well coached," Goorjian said.

"We know about Coach's background and what he's accomplished, and when you talk about swings, I knew he's going to control the tempo of this game, and their team is.

"There isn't going to be big swings. So if you fall down 10 or 12 or 14, you're in deep, deep trouble, and after last night, I knew coming in here that they were going to be desperate.

"The other one I thought about is we're talking about Davison. We're talking about (Sam) Mennenga. We're talking about DJ. Just in the corner of my eye, it's like Noi to come in and put on a show here because that's what he's got in him. And he would have this marked on the calendar.

"So, we got the full gauntlet tonight and a knockdown, drag-out, and a game that was really important, not only winning, but how we won. Thought we had the game in regulation. Disappointment. Thought we had the game in the first overtime. We had the option there. It was in our court. Didn't get that one. Guys on the bench: 'You should have', 'Why did we give up a three here, there?'

"And we kept getting back on the horse.

"Then the last point is I keep talking about the youth and the group that we're bringing in. We've had contributions from (Jayden) Stone, (Harry) Wessels, and those bench guys and then tonight, Tyler (Robertson), knowing we said we're going to match in a certain amount, we went small tonight so we could get the ball moving. And we thought he would be very effective in the role tonight.

"We talked about it and the matchup. Thirty-seven minutes. We kind of joked about that. That's a first, and he was tremendous for us, as was Will (Johnston), all the way through, sitting on him until late in the third, bringing that energy in. He was instrumental when we were stuck trying to score, and he brought a lot of energy and pace to the game.

"So, really, as you can tell, a lot bubbling in here the whole way back on that fight coming back and knowing what's ahead, and just excited but also relieved."

Noi sent the game to overtime with a clutch three with 26 seconds left in regulation, tying it 87-87. The Kings forced him into a tough, contested three to win it with 0.9 seconds left, but he missed.

Davis missed two shots at the end of the first OT, including a jumper with two seconds left to win it with the score tied at 96. The second OT was a war of attrition as the Breakers fought through, with Sam Mennenga ($303,100) clearly being impacted by illness.

Breakers head coach and FIBA Men's World Cup champion Gordon Herbert said: "Obviously disappointed. At the same time, proud of how we fought. I think we were down, we were down, we were down. We kept fighting, coming back.

"I thought Davis made a couple plays there to give them some momentum in overtime. Second, I guess it was the second overtime.

"We had defensive stops at the end of regulation, end of first overtime, defensive stops. We just never really had a chance to finish it, so to speak.

"But I think it was a good basketball game. Crowd got their money's worth. Coaches got a little bit older."

Goorjian, 73, and Herbert, 67, are 140 years old combined.

"He's going through a really tough time, obviously," Herbert said of Mennenga.

"I was even for him not even coming on this trip; I wanted him to stay back and get healthy, but he wanted to come and play.

"Give him credit. He made some good passes out of the post, but obviously he's really struggling and you can see it in his face. He's just really weak and not much energy, but he gave it everything he had."

Herbert, who won the 2023 FIBA Men's World Cup with Germany, said Davison had embraced the next-man-up opportunity after the injury-plagued season of import point guard Parker Jackson-Cartwright ($405,200).

"First and foremost, I'm proud of the kid," Herbert said.

"We had a tough preseason together. He was 10th man going into the season.

"He hung in there. I have to give the kid credit. He hung in there, came to practice, kept his head up, worked really hard, and got the opportunity. When he got the opportunity, I think he just took complete advantage of it.

"He stays after practice working on his shot. He's working on his shot. He's a kid; when he gets to the paint, great things can happen.

"I think he's a gamer, too. I think he enjoys... I think it's a passion for him to play basketball, first and foremost, and he enjoys having the ball in his hand, and he's able to make a play.

"Some of the passes he makes are pretty incredible and give me a little bit of a heart attack sometimes, but the kid's given a tremendous effort. We're asking him to do a lot and defend, rebound. We're asking him to do a lot."

Watch

NBL27

Sydney Kings vs New Zealand Breakers | Round 9 Highlights

Watch the highlights as the Brisbane Bullets take on the Tasmania JackJumpers in Round 9 of NBL27 on November 15, 2026.

What you need to know

• The Sydney Kings beat the New Zealand Breakers 111-102 in double overtime at Afterpay Arena in Round 9 of NBL27 on Sunday, November 15, 2026, in front of 10,183, moving to 9-4 two days after an 84-82 loss in Cairns and levelling the season series at 1-1, while New Zealand fell to 5-9.
• Sydney won the first quarter 21-20, New Zealand the second 25-24, Sydney the third 20-19 and New Zealand the fourth 23-22 to force overtime at 87-87, the first overtime finished 9-9, and Sydney won the second 15-6.
• Kendric Davis ($436,000) top-scored with 36 points and nine assists on 14-from-28, including 4-from-9 from three, in a game-high 45 minutes, while Kouat Noi ($185,100) led New Zealand with 32 off the bench on 9-from-17, including 4-from-9 from three and 10-from-13 at the line.
• New Zealand went to the free-throw line 34 times to Sydney's 23 but made 20, missing 14 in a game that needed two overtimes, and Charles Bediako ($277,000) missed all seven of his.
• Sydney turned it over seven times to New Zealand's 13 and had 27 assists to 22.

Milestones & Moments

• Kendric Davis ($436,000) moved to 2,049 career NBL points in his 82nd NBL game, two days after passing 2,000 against Cairns on November 13.
• Kouat Noi ($185,100) moved to 1,931 career NBL points, 69 short of 2,000, in his 197th NBL game, three short of 200.
• Sam Mennenga ($303,100) played his 98th NBL game, two short of 100.
• Dejan Vasiljevic ($144,000) played his 193rd NBL game and moved to 2,749 career NBL points.
• Reuben Te Rangi ($97,100) played his 406th NBL game.
• It was the only double-overtime game of the 67 NBL27 games played so far, and New Zealand's second overtime game in three days after beating Brisbane 94-90 on November 13.

Sydney Kings

• Kendric Davis ($436,000) top-scored with 36 points, nine assists and four rebounds on 14-from-28, including 4-from-9 from three and 4-from-7 at the line, and his three at 98-98 with 3:42 left in the second overtime put Sydney ahead for good.
• Torrey Craig ($290,400) had 17 points and 11 rebounds on 6-from-17, including 3-from-10 from three, and scored Sydney's last four points with a putback layup and two free throws.
• Tyler Robertson ($106,800) scored 16 on 5-from-6, including 4-from-5 from three, and 2-from-2 at the line, with five assists, before his fifth foul with 1:36 left in the second overtime.
• Xavier Cooks ($308,000) had 13 points, six rebounds and three blocks on 5-from-8, and his driving and-one made it 107-102 with 1:21 left in the second overtime.
• Makuach Maluach ($134,500) scored 10 off the bench on 3-from-7, all three makes from three, with five rebounds.
• Will Johnston ($69,000) scored eight off the bench on 3-from-4 and 2-from-2 at the line, including the two free throws that made it 104-100 with 1:44 left in the second overtime.
• Andrew Carr ($277,000) had six points and five rebounds off the bench on 3-from-5, missing both his threes.
• Sydney shot 41-from-81 from the field, 14-from-35 from three and 15-from-23 at the line, with 42 rebounds, 27 assists and seven turnovers.

New Zealand Breakers

• Kouat Noi ($185,100) top-scored with 32 off the bench on 9-from-17, including 4-from-9 from three and 10-from-13 at the line, and tied it with a three at 87-87 with 26 seconds left in regulation and with two free throws at 96-96 with 26 seconds left in the first overtime.
• Dejan Vasiljevic ($144,000) scored 22 on 7-from-13, including 4-from-9 from three, and 4-from-4 at the line, with two steals in 40 minutes.
• Charles Bediako ($277,000) had 18 points and 10 rebounds, six of them offensive, on 9-from-12, but missed all seven of his free throws.
• Mojave King ($189,100) scored 13 off the bench on 4-from-10, including 2-from-4 from three, and 3-from-4 at the line.
• Carlin Davison ($121,600) had 11 points, nine rebounds and 15 assists on 4-from-8 in a team-high 43 minutes, but turned it over six times.
• Sam Mennenga ($303,100) had three points and seven rebounds on 1-from-5, including 1-from-3 from three, with three turnovers.
• Nelson Weidemann ($277,000) scored three on 1-from-8, including 1-from-4 from three, in 18 minutes.
• New Zealand shot 35-from-76 from the field, 12-from-34 from three and 20-from-34 at the line, with 41 rebounds, 22 assists and 13 turnovers.