Patience proved to be a virtue for Sydney fans as the Kings awoke from a first quarter slumber to hand the Perth Wildcats a record 102-74 loss and reclaim the national basketball league ladder lead.

The Sydney Entertainment Centre had the atmosphere of a library rather than a top-of-the-table clash early on as both sides struggled with their shooting, in contrast to the last time they tangled.

High scoring was the order in their last clash when the Wildcats ran out 130-127 winners in an overtime thriller in Perth, ending Sydney's best season start of seven straight wins.

But in this match the crowd could hear a pin drop in the first quarter before Kings coach Brian Goorjian's trademark miserly defence combined with woeful Perth shooting to swing the game in Sydney's favour.

They say good things come to those who wait and that was the case, with Sydney overcoming the first term hiccup to make a mockery of Perth's league-leading status.

Sydney now owns top spot with an 8-2 season record, leapfrogging Perth (8-3) which dropped to fourth, after what was the biggest ever win over the Wildcats.

For Sydney, import forward Chris Williams had 20 points and 12 rebounds, Matthew Nielsen 19 points and five rebounds and Gary Boodnikoff 18 points.

For Perth, guard Ricky Grace had 22 points, Matthew Burston 15 points and nine rebounds while Rob Feaster and James Harvey both had eight points.

How bored were the fans in the first quarter?

It took almost three minutes for Perth to open its account and almost six minutes for the Kings to find their second field goal as both struggled for shooting accuracy.

The Kings shot just 33 per cent (7-21) from the field - compared to Perth's 35 (6-17) - but somehow still managed to hold on to a 19-16 first quarter lead.

But the second was one way traffic as Nielsen hit 12 points for the term and Perth shot just 5-18 from the field to be restricted to its equal second lowest score for a quarter - 12.

The Kings scrambled to a 23-20 break before going on a 14-0 run to enjoy a commanding 45-28 halftime buffer.

A 13 point third quarter from Grace was negated by 32 per cent shooting from the field by Perth and a 10 point term by skipper Shane Heal (14 points, six assists for the match) as the Kings rolled to a 79-48 lead at the final break.

It was more of the same from the Kings and - unfortunately for Perth fans - the erratic Wildcats in the fourth as Sydney staked its NBL title claim.

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