Resurgent Adelaide 36ers’ NBL title hopes are alive and kicking after a stunning Bryce Cotton buzzer beater propelled the Sixers to a breathtaking 91-89 victory against Sydney Kings to level the Championship Series at one win apiece.
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Scores were tied after a crucial late defensive stop by the home side and with the seconds ticking down, Cotton raced up the floor and scored the match-winning bucket as time expired.
The home fans at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre had been loud throughout but reached fever pitch with the dramatic finish.
Cotton led the way with a game-high 28 points and had plenty to say to arch-rival Kendric Davis after his game-winner, with the pair separated by teammates.
Davis led the Kings with 20 points and his side led by as much as 14 points in the third quarter, but scores were level with just over four minutes remaining in the epic struggle.
Sydney edged ahead, but Cotton tied it up with a minute left with two free throws after a foul by Davis that led to heated words between the two, with Cotton having the last laugh on this occasion.
The series continues on Sunday in Sydney at Qudos Bank Arena, with Game 4 in Adelaide on Wednesday 1 April.
HOME SWEET HOME
The Kings thrashed the 36ers by a record 44 points in the opening game of the Championship Series in Sydney, but Mike Wells’ men were a different proposition in front of their deafeningly loud home fans.
Adelaide led by a point at halftime, but the Kings put a gap on the 36ers with a withering 16-5 run to open the third quarter.
The home side did well to regroup and slow Sydney’s momentum, but went into the final term down nine points.
With Cotton warming to the task, Adelaide trimmed the deficit to one point just over four minutes into the pulsating final term.
HOSTILITIES RENEWED
After helping restrict Cotton to 10 points in Game 1, Matthew Dellavedova renewed hostilities with the superstar shooter.
With Dellavedova never far from his side, Cotton committed two turnovers and didn’t take a shot until five minutes into the opening term.
The Sixers trailed by six points when Torrey Craig nailed a triple with four minutes remaining in the first quarter, but John Jenkins hit a three-pointer in a sizzling 10-0 run that saw the home side hit the front.
Brian Goorjian’s men were equal to the challenge, red-hot Craig pouring in another five points in a 9-0 run that sent the visitors into the first break with a five-point lead.
Cotton and Davis made just one shot each from the floor in the first quarter, Craig leading all scorers with eight.
WILD SWINGS
The wild momentum swings continued in the second quarter.
With Craig dialed in from long range, the Kings kept Adelaide at arm’s length after the restart before Adelaide launched a blistering 12-2 run.
The home fans erupted when Jenkins hit another three to make it 44-37 with Goorjian calling timeout to talk things over.
Sydney rallied and led by a point with 30 seconds left in the half on the back of Craig’s fifth triple, but DJ Vasiljevic struck back from beyond the arc to send his team into the main break with a one-point advantage.
During the post-match press conference, Mike Wells praised his side’s resilience, saying the 36ers simply “kept competing” in the win.
“I just thought that um you know we just kept competing. You know I think we’ve had a whole bunch of games this year that um you know where we’ve been down and um this group has functioned at a really high level,” he said.
“You know I think that’s our 26th win of the year. It’s the most this franchise has ever had ever. And um what we’ve done a lot of times with being down in a lot of different quarters and a lot of different games was just find a way to win.”
Wells also credited Bryce Cotton after his game-winner levelled the series.
“And I thought that you know, you’ve heard me talk about the team has grit and all those kind of things. And you know, we just um we just keep competing and it’s led by this guy right here. And I’ve said over and over and over, uh, all the basketball stuff aside, when your best player is also a really, really good human being and is very, very coachable, the rest of it’s really easy, guys.”
“like you know everybody wants to talk about some sort of stuff outside the team which I don’t know because I don’t listen to you guys or watch the media or whatever but I know one thing, in the gym, the guys have been fantastic since the day we started”
“This group has come together over and over and you know we just keep finding ways to win which is a really good quality”
Fresh off his game-winner and late interaction with Kendric Davis, Cotton explained his mindset in the final moments that sealed the 91–89 win.
“Yeah, when I got the rebound, shout out Nick for tipping it right into my hands, but I didn’t realize there was actually 3 seconds left on the clock. And I was trying to decide really quickly if I wanted to get a pull up three or try to take it to the basket. And from there, instincts took over and, uh, yeah, I just ran as fast as I could.”
“You know, Flynn was big, Z was big, John Jenkins was amazing. You know, 14 points in what, 18 minutes? Incredible. It was a team effort and, you know, that’s what it took. That’s what it’s taken for us all year to get to this point. So, you wouldn’t expect anything to be any different.“
Beyond Cotton, several 36ers made key contributions, with Isaac Humphries playing a crucial role. The big man finished with six points, eight rebounds and six blocks in just 20 minutes.
“I’ll shout out Ice’s [Humphries] second half. Ice was really, really good. the second half with six blocks, eight rebounds, and he was three of three on the field goal. But he was in there and he was really affecting KD. And I thought his second half was a really key. He anchored us. He really anchored us.”
Cotton also addressed his exchange with Davis, downplaying it as part of the intensity of finals basketball.
“I’ve never had a rivalry in this league. This is just playoff basketball,” he said.
“Tempers flare. It’s part of playoff basketball. It is what it is. You know, I grew up playing at the parks where things get feisty like that. So, you know, it’s just basketball. It’s just another day back in America. So, you know, you guys may make a big deal out of it, but it’s just another day.”
MATCH CENTRE: 36ers vs Kings score, stats
The 36ers were on the wrong end of a historic thumping in Game 1, and only making matters worse was an alleged argument between head coach Mike Wells and Dejan Vasiljevic.
The Kings, meanwhile, are settled and have been able to stay out of the spotlight as they look to build on that dominant first-up victory and take a 2-0 series lead with the chance to claim the title when Game 3 returns to Sydney.