NBL 2014/15 Round 3: Childress ejected as Martin leads Perth to big win over Sydney

The Perth Wildcats made easy work of the visiting Sydney Kings in Perth tonight with an 84-63 victory. They were led by the sublime performance of defensive stalwart Damian Martin who fell just short of a triple double. The game was marred by the ejection of star import Josh Childress who viciously elbowed Jesse Wagstaff in the third quarter of the contest.

The game began with Perth getting the ball inside to Matty Knight who worked the post well in the early going. Ben Madgen looked to be in for a big night as he hit the Kings first two shots but the vocal Perth crowd got behind their team and the Wildcats ramped up their defensive efforts with Damian Martin hounding Sydney’s point guard Kendrick Perry forcing Kings coach Damian Cotter to bench him early in the first.

Perth went on a 12-4 run to start the game and the Kings were forced to take an early time out after the benching of Perry and they looked decidedly rattled by Perth’s pressure. Star import Josh Childress was quiet in the early going as he was marked closely and didn’t see a lot of ball.

With Perry on the bench, the Kings back-up point guard Jason Cadee tried to spark the Kings with back-to-back buckets but Perth’s offense in the paint ensured they led the contest 26-17 at the end of the first.

The second quarter began with Jesse Wagstaff nailing a three with the Wildcats first possession but it was Damian Martin’s defense that was the catalyst for an 8-0 Perth run. Martin was all over Kendrick Perry again and the Kings import looked as though he wished he was any place but on the court as he turned the ball over repeatedly.

Childress looked to get himself into the game for Sydney with some lovely moves but Perth’s defense was stifling and the Kings were wilting under the pressure. The Wildcats were physical, used the full court press to great effect and really threw the Kings off their game in the second quarter going into the halftime break leading 50-32.

The third quarter brought more of the same as Martin continued to hound Perry to great effect. The Kings were unraveling fast and it all came to a head when Jesse Wagstaff set a hard screen on Josh Childress under the basket and the star import retaliated by rushing Wagstaff elbow first and dropping the Perth forward. The brain snap was enough to see Childress ejected from the game and will likely see him cop some kind of suspension.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1knVZS4XjN8

https://vine.co/v/Oh6zLYtDI7h

Ben Madgen tried to get Sydney back into the contest with two threes in quick succession but the lead was still 19 points for the Wildcats. Damian Martin went into the break with an amazing 7 rebounds, 7 assists and 8 steals as Perth led 68-47.

The fourth quarter saw the tempo slow a little in the game as it was obvious to all that Perth were firmly in the drivers seat. Both teams traded buckets and once Ben Madgen was called for his second flop of the evening and joined Childress in being ejected from the match, the Kings were al but done and dusted.

Damian Martin played as well as he ever has in the victory and finished with 2 points, 9 rebounds, 8 assists and 9 steals. A true defensive masterpiece as Kendrick Perry would surely attest to.

Sydney has serious point guard problems and with Josh Childress likely to be suspended things aren’t looking good for the Kings in the coming weeks. Perth, as always, looked like a quality; playoff bound squad despite the season being so young.

Perth Wildcats 84 (Beal 16, Wagstaff 15, Redhage 12)

Sydney Kings 63 (Madgen 15, Cadee 12, Childress 11)

@ Perth Arena