Grieving Gaze breaks down in heartbreaking presser

Sydney Kings coach Andrew Gaze has burst into tears during a post-match press conference over the death of former teammate Blair Smith.

Smith went missing this week and his body was found on Thursday afternoon, with Queensland police saying there were no suspicious circumstances.

Smith played over 300 NBL games, many with Australian basketball icon Gaze at the Melbourne Tigers.

The Kings coach was asked about Smith's death after the Kings' loss to Brisbane Bullets on Saturday, and broke down while answering the question.

"I become very emotional just thinking about it over the last few days," Gaze said before bursting into tears.

"It puts this stuff (basketball) into perspective.

"We won a title with Blair into 1997...he was someone we cared very deeply about.

"He was a great man and you feel like 'maybe I should have reached out to him...could i have helped?'"

The Kings' finals hopes are in tatters after the 85-77 home loss to fellow battlers Brisbane.

Leading by a point at halftime, the Kings were out-smarted in the second half and given a lesson in rebounding (42-29) by the Bullets, who were backing up 48 hours after losing to the New Zealand Breakers in Auckland.

Brisbane boosted their record to 5-8 and kept their top four hopes afloat, while last-placed Sydney slumped to 3-11 and face the daunting prospect of having to win 12 of their final 14 games to make the play offs.

The Bullets' win was their first on the road in more than a year.

with AAP