The Sydney Kings have inflicted another significant dent in the Illawarra Hawks' NBL championship defence while continuing to put themselves right in the discussion for this season's title with a commanding 108-84 win.
For the fourth straight year, the Kings hosted a game on Christmas night at Qudos Bank Arena.
On Thursday, it was a stand-alone NBL fixture, with the home team enjoying themselves as they continued their hot form against the struggling reigning champs.
Sydney came into the match on a four-game winning streak and was in control virtually from the outset in front of 7732 fans, making a red-hot start with 34 points to 19 in the opening quarter.
That buffer continued to grow for the rest of the game, with the Kings leading 62-41 heading into the halftime break, before the advantage blew out to as much as 29, before ending with a 24-point victory.
Sydney's fifth straight victory meant they improved to 12-7, sitting in fourth place and closing in on Melbourne United (14-7).
The Hawks' title defence continues to splutter with a third consecutive loss as they slipped to 6-13 and are at risk of losing touch with the sixth-placed Tasmania JackJumpers (9-11).
Illawarra won the rebound count by seven and pulled down 17 offensive rebounds to eight, but the Kings dominated overall, including shooting 53 per cent from the field and 45 per cent from deep, compared with the Hawks' 41 and 32 per cent.
Kendric Davis continued his hot form for the Kings with another 27 points and nine assists.
Xavier Cooks was also tremendous, with 21 points, six rebounds and five assists.
Kouat Noi landed 6-of-12 from three-point land for 18 points, with Jaylin Galloway adding 12 points and Tim Soares eight points, seven rebounds and three assists.
Kings coach Brian Goorjian is chuffed with how his team is coming together.
"I felt really good about how we started the game because I was nervous about the complacency part, and if we were going to be able to pick up and get that going," he said.
"Then the game started that way and continued right through the first quarter and a half, so I felt good about how the game was being played."
One real positive for the Hawks was the return of co-captain Sam Froling, who played his first game on Thursday night after rupturing his Achilles in last season's Championship Series.
Froling showed good signs in 24 minutes, finishing with 13 points and 12 rebounds.
Fellow big man JaVale McGee had 20 points and six rebounds, with Wani Swaka Lo Buluk adding 15 points and two assists, and QJ Peterson managing 11 points despite 3-of-12 shooting.
While Froling was happy to get through unscathed on return, it didn't make up for the result.
"It sucks that we lost and it kinda ruined Christmas," he said.
"I've done six weeks of practice now of full training and the body felt good, and passed all the tests and I trusted that."
