NBL26 Round 12

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Melbourne United vs Sydney Kings NBL26 Round 12 Tips - United’s loading trend ends

Jeremy Darke

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Last updated: Sat 13 Dec 2025 06:24

Jeremy Darke 13 Dec 2025

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Melbourne United vs Sydney Kings expert predictions for Sunday’s Round 12 NBL matchup
Tip-off is at 2:30 PM AEDT at John Cain Arena
Melbourne boasts a 7-1 home record, offering a slight advantage.
Expect a high-scoring game with both teams in shooting form recently.

Melbourne United vs Sydney Kings NBL26 Round 12 Tip

Melbourne United vs Sydney Kings NBL25 Round 12 Expert Tips

Home court will be welcomed for United who will break their losing skid of three matches against their old foe the Sydney Kings.

Since the FIBA break, Melbourne have gone 0-3 and reliquished top spot on the ladder to the Adelaide 36ers, who handed them their third straight loss on Friday night. United will return to John Cain where they have only lost once this season and it will be just what the doctor ordered for United.

Sydney broke thier two-game slide against Perth in a spectacular shooting display from Kendric Davis who went for over 50% from 13 attempts from three, dropping 38 points in a 31-point win against the Wildcats.

I expect this game to see plenty of points with two teams that have seen a whole lot of shootouts and high-scoring matches over the last month. I lean towards United because of thier clear advantage at John Cain Arena but do expect a few lead changes throughout this tough contest.

Melbourne have won 7 of 8 games at home this season.
Melbourne have won 4 of the last 5 against Sydney.
The last 3 Sydney matches have gone over the game total.
Five of the last 6 Melbourne matches have gone over the game total.

Head to Head

Last 5 Match Results

Date	Home Team	Score	Line	Total Points
03/11/2025	MEL	SYD 95-92	SYD +6.5	O 182.5
08/10/2025	SYD	MEL 107-93	MEL +4.0	O 184.5
09/01/2025	SYD	MEL 90-88	MEL +2.5	U 193.0
01/12/2024	MEL	MEL 101-98	SYD +5.0	O 177.0
31/10/2024	MEL	MEL 87-83	SYD +5.0	U 180.0

Offensive & Defensive Rankings

MEL Off	Rank	Stat	Rank	SYD Def
95.9	2	PPG	2	86.5
42.9	4	RPG	7	41.9
45.3%	5	FG%	7	45.1%
33.0%	4	3P%	7	33.8%
11.8	5	TOV	3	13.1

MEL Def	Rank	Stat	Rank	SYD Off
87.9	5	PPG	4	91
40	1	RPG	5	42.4
44.6%	4	FG%	8	44.4%
38.4%	10	3P%	7	32.1%
14.4	2	TOV	1	9

Melbourne United Form & Team News

Melbourne came from 18 points down in the third quarter against 36ers, to force overtime in front of a hostile Adelaide crowd, however, they were unable to complete the miracle in the extra period despite Bryce Cotton getting fouled out early.

After a couple of quiet weeks including his first ever game without registering a point as a starter, Chris Goulding was the one to lift for United scoring 8 of his season-high 24 points in the fourth quarter to spark the revival for Melbourne. Finn Delany was also strong with 20 points while Jesse Edwards was tough down low with 14 points and 9 rebounds.

It was a better performance from United, although that doesn’t help them in the standings after losing three straight after going down to both Perth and South East Melbourne before meeting Adelaide.

Sydney Kings Form & Team News

The Kings put up thier second biggest total of the season in their 108-79 victory over the Perth Wildcats on Friday. It was a three-point masterclass from Kendric Davis that was the difference with the Sydney import in a mood from the get go, going 7 from 13 from downtown and finishing the match on 38 points, along with 8 assists and 6 rebounds.

Xavier Cooks had one of his better games of the season with 17 points, proving to be very inspirational early on offence and playing his role defensively to contain Jo Lual-Acuil and Kristian Doolittle under 10 points each.

It was a much needed win for the highly criticised Kings who were on a two-game skid, but have now moved up above the .500 point and back into fourth on the ladder.

Verdict

Melbourne United v Sydney Kings

Melbourne cover the line and the match will go over the 185.5 game total.

Melbourne -3.5

Handicap/Line

$1.91 - 2 Units

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Over 185.5

Game Total

$1.91 - 3 Units

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