Reigning NBL champions Sydney Kings slapped down the leading challenger to their crown on Saturday night, ending the Melbourne Tigers' unbeaten start to the season with a seven-point win at the State Netball Centre.

Kings guard CJ Bruton led his team with a game-high 28 points as Sydney held off a late fourth quarter charge from the Tigers to win 95-88.

Melbourne centre Chris Anstey led the late rally after his side had shot dreadfully all night, scoring 16 of his 26 points in the final term to bring his side to within two points inside the final 90 seconds.

But the Kings steadied to post a deserved win and serve notice they are not about to surrender their bid for a fourth straight NBL title just yet.

The Kings took what appeared to be a stranglehold on the match in the first half, leading by 15 points at halftime and restricting the Tigers to just 18 points in each of the first two terms.

Outstanding Kings defence and wasteful shooting killed the Tigers early on - the home side managing just 13 of 42 shots from the field in the first half and only two three-pointers for the first three quarters.

By contrast, the Kings hit 13 three-pointers in the same period - Bruton putting on a clinic with seven of 11 from the perimeter as the home side put up brick after brick.

The Tigers now have a 4-1 win-loss record, while Sydney is 4-2.

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