The JackJumpers will be looking to even the score when they face Sydney Kings in Hobart in game two of their NBL grand final series on Sunday.
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Despite a close first-half, the Kings raced to a 95-78 victory at Sydney's Qudos Bank Arena on Friday night.
Sydney were up 43-40 at the half but surged to a 13-point three-quarter time lead to put the game out of reach.
"I think we had eight turnovers for 16 points which is very uncharacteristic of us and they're very potent offensively so that causes enough problems when trying to fight back into the game," Tassie coach Scott Roth said.
"We moved the ball around and it wasn't a very good second-half for us."
Roth was pleased with how the JackJumpers went about their business in the opening half.
"We were pretty solid across the board in the first two quarters," he said.
"I thought the tempo was fine and we were doing a lot of good things.
"Sydney is an explosive team and if you give them turnovers and you're not executing well, they can get on runs and they're hard to stop."
Roth said one area for improvement would be to guard the three-point line better after the Kings shot 11/23 at 47 per cent.
He said the JackJumpers would quickly turn their focus to Sunday's game.
"It's just one game, if they had of won by one point or 50 it's just one game, and it's a series," he said.
"Same as with Melbourne United, we lost the first game there and we'll learn from it and we've got 36 hours to flip the script."
Sydney guard Ian Clark led the charge in his team's crucial 28-point third quarter. When he wasn't scoring, he was making steals.
It was tough going for the Tassie group which coughed up eight turnovers and made five field goals during that quarter.
Sydney star and NBL MVP Jaylen Adams didn't finish the game after going off in the fourth term with a hamstring complaint. He may be in doubt for game two.
The JackJumpers were well-prepared and made life tough for Sydney in the first half.
The Kings, who are renowned for their athletic and free-flowing style, couldn't get their game going in what was a physical contest.
Sydney got off to the better start in the opening quarter as the JackJumpers got four good looks but couldn't captalise.
Jarell Martin got the first bucket thanks to a Jaylen Adams' assist.
Jack McVeigh opened the Tassie team's account with a three.
He looked comfortable on the big stage as he delivered back-to-back triples.
Exciting guard Josh Adams struggled from the field early but his long-range three to square up the scores (11-11) was a highlight.
Jaylen Adams was another trying to find rhythm and he hit a huge three to get his team back in front.
JackJumper MiKyle McIntosh brought great energy in the opening half and was working over the Kings' defence.
Meanwhile, Sam McDaniel and Jarred Bairstow were pulling down offensive rebounds which are invaluable in play-offs. At the other end, the JackJumpers were rotating well on defence.
The Kings' Xavier Cooks successfully drove to the hoop to make it a 23-19 quarter-time score line.
McIntosh delivered the first blow of the second quarter while both teams were finding it difficult to score.
The three-ball was the JackJumpers' friend in the second term.
Triples came from McDaniel, Josh Adams, Magette and Fabijan Krslovic.
Jaylen Adams and centre Makur Maker were starting to exert their influence at the other end but Sydney couldn't get more than a few points in front.
The Kings lost their way and had sloppy turnovers as the JackJumpers played strong defence.
Tasmania took the lead but then Clark nailed a three to get the Kings back up by one point.
Captain Clint Steindl drowned a triple to get Tassie back in front (40-38).
A couple of late buckets from Clark and Jaylen Adams ensured the Kings went into the main break 43-40 up.
McVeigh provided a highlight early in the third term when he hit a three to make it nine from 19 attempts beyond the arc for the Tassie team.
But they otherwise struggled in that crucial stanza as the Kings gained fluidity on offence.
Krslovic said he was looking forward to playing in front of home fans in game two.
"We're going to have 5000 people right behind us pushing us and it's a big advantage and our last couple of games at home have had that atmosphere, we've really learned to thrive on it and use it," he said.
Roth is likewise looking forward to the occasion.
"It's obvious the state has rallied around these guys and deservedly so and it'll be electric in that building and it should be a blast," he said.
Game two is at Derwent Entertainment Centre on Sunday at 2.30pm.
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