Captain Jason Smith and team schemer Dontaye Draper had to produce second half moments of magic to steer the Sydney Kings to a struggling 99-92 win over Wollongong Hawks at the Sydney Entertainment Centre.

Premiership leaders Sydney, who have now won 16 of 18 games, were not expected to be troubled by the lowly placed Hawks but had to fight throughout to stay in front.

The Kings appeared flat, missed 16 free throws and only put away six from 25 at three point range.

"I think the team is fatigued and needs a break. We didn't play with energy defensively and didn't shut down their key players," Kings coach Brian Goorjian said.

"We have the next 13 days free and need to come back focussed over the last six weeks. I've never been 16-2 before but the team still needs to play better if we want to win the championship."

The Kings got away to a slow start against the Hawks, who had lost seven of their last eight games and had the third worst defensive record in the league.

Hawks' guard Kavossy Franklin, who was in the Kings' title winning team in 2003, was a constant worry in dictating play and setting up scoring chances.

Wollongong led 24-21 at the first quarter as the Kings failed to find the basket, especially from three point range which has been one of their strengths.

The tempo increased in the second quarter with Ian Crosswhite taking the Kings to the front as the home side established a nine point lead.

Although the Kings led 52-50 at halftime they were still off target, converting only three of 15 shots from long range.

Smith had been quiet in the first half but exploded into action in the third quarter with 11 points while Draper chipped in with seven.

Wollongong refused to give in, continually pushing forward and their aggression resulted in three players being fouled out.

Draper added another seven in the final quarter as the Kings retained possession to keep their lead ranging between seven and 12 points.

Wollongong fell down in ball handling, conceding 22 turnovers as well as 31 fouls.

"They played a wonderful game considering the team disruptions over the past week," said Hawks' coach Eric Cooks.

Draper had a match high 22 points, followed by Smith (19) and Mark Worthington (14) while best for Wollongong were Franklin (21) and Cameron Tragardh with 19.

Former Hawk Glen Saville had six points and seven rebounds for the Kings in his first game against his former club

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