The Golden State Warriors Draftee had a game-high 21 points, but it was a virtual lone hand as the Hawks trailed by as much as 20 points in a game controlled by the hosts virtually from start to finish.

Deng Deng, who's been one of the preseason standouts, was next best for the Hawks, falling just short of a double-double with 16 points and nine rebounds, while Emmett Naar contributed 12 points. Tyler Harvey had 11 points but it came at 2-13 from the field before fouling out of the game.

The Kings got contributions all across the floor, with all 13 players getting on the sheet, led by Didi Louzada's 13 points and six rebounds. Supersub Shaun Bruce had 14 points at 3-3 from long-range, while Daniel Kickert (12), Casper Ware (10) and Brad Newlwy (10) also cracked double digits.

The win wasn't without headaches for new coach Adam Forde, with Xavier Cooks going down hard in the second quarter clutching at his ankle. He hobbled from the court and didn't return.

It was the Hawks third game in five days, having taken on the Wildcats in Perth twice in 48 hours before a return flight to Sydney ahead of Sunday's clash with a much fresher Kings outfit. The journey appeared to take its toll down the stretch.

The game was played in an empty arena amid Sydney's latest COVID outbreak and - with whispers a league-wide shift to a Melbourne bubble is imminent - it may be the closest either side gets to a home game in the near future.

The Next Stars were in on the action early, with Jessup nailing his first attempt from deep, while Louzada grabbed his own triple and another pair of buckets on a seven-point burst that saw the scores locked at 10 apiece midway through the term. It was all the hosts from there, closing the term with an 11-3 run to lead 22-13, the Hawks managing just four of 20 from the field.

Ware had a deep three and turned a steal into an assist for a slam from Angus Glover as the lead ballooned to 14 straight after the resumption. The scoring pace quickened, with Deng and Louzada trading threes, while Glover also chimed in from deep to keep a double-digit lead.

Cooks hobbled from the floor four minutes before the break, with Jessup firing off five unanswered points, including his second from beyond the arc, to bring the margin back to single digits. Isaac White's first three nine seconds before halftime brought it back to six at the main break.

Bruce and Deng traded threes early in the third but the Hawks found themselves in collective foul trouble, with Harvey's fourth personal putting the Kings in the bonus with more than five minutes to play in the term. It sent Bruce to line for two of his his side's 28 trips to the stripe, 14 more than their opposition.

It saw the the Kings close the the term on a 15-8 run to lead by 18 at the final break. The Hawks fought back briefly in the fourth, a pair of slams from Deng on assists from Naar the exclamation point on a 16-5 run that cut the margin back to single digits and forced the Kings into a timeout. It was as close as the visitors got, with the hosts steadying to close the show.