Adelaide coach Mike Wells has criticised the officiating in his side’s 106–93 Game Three loss to Sydney, claiming Bryce Cotton was “beat up” throughout. He pointed to Matthew Dellavedova’s zero fouls despite the physical defence, while Brian Goorjian praised Kendric Davis for “controlling his emotions” after his Game Two outburst.
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Tasked with making Bryce Cotton work for every touch, Dellavedova helped limit the star guard to 15 points on 5-of-15 shooting. Cotton still found ways to impact the game, finishing with 12 assists as he shifted into more of a playmaking role under heavy defensive pressure from the Kings.
Wells, however, was frustrated by what he felt was an imbalance in how that pressure was officiated.
“Matthew Dellavedova played how many minutes? He had zero fouls, guys,” he said.
“Okay, zero fouls. This was the exact same thing that we had in game one. Now the scoring was different. The foul output for the game in game one was 11 to 24. Today was 11 to 24. The main guy that’s on Bryce Cotton had zero fouls.”
“I mean, if they want to beat up the MVP and take him out, that’s what the refs have allowed him to do. He doesn’t even get to the free throw line, guys.”
Cotton attempted just two free throws for the night and was called for three personal fouls himself, despite absorbing consistent physical defence.
Wells’ frustration grew as he pointed to the second-half whistle, with Sydney called for just four fouls in the second-half entirely.
“We were in this game to win this game, but we didn’t have a chance to do that. So that’s kind of just, you know, that’s hard for me. They only had four fouls the entire second half. Okay, let that sink in now. They were called for four fouls the entire half.”
Asked whether he would raise the issue with NBL Head of Referees Scott Butler, Wells admitted he was still processing the result.
“It’s a good question. I don’t really know how to answer it at this point right here in this moment because I do have a lot of emotion about it,” he said.
“But you know, when I see the foul count and we’ve almost played the entire fourth quarter and they’re winning and there’s one foul on them and they’ve only fouled four times the second half. They had 11 for the game. That’s hard for me.”
Despite the frustration, Wells was quick to praise John Jenkins, who continued his strong form off the bench with 22 points, his second-best scoring performance since joining the team.
“I thought John Jenkins was outstanding with his shooting. He really shows his veteran poise and his ability to make shots on the road. And this is really a tough environment to play in. And the crowd was great. That’s what John does.”
During the post-match press conference, Sydney Kings import Tim Soares, who recorded a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds, was asked about Kendric Davis’ remarkable night. Glancing at the stat line, Soares admitted he thought there had been a mistake.
“I thought that was a typo,” he said.
Davis finished with 34 points, 15 assists and zero turnovers, setting a new career high in assists and an NBL Finals record in the process. His previous best of 14 also came against Adelaide earlier in the season.
While his scoring stood out, it was his control of the offence that shaped the game. Davis consistently created for others, bringing teammates into the flow. Jaylin Galloway added 17 points, while Xavier Cooks produced 18 points, eight rebounds and five assists in a well-rounded performance.
The response carried extra weight given the fallout from Game Two. In what was unfamiliar territory, Davis had to steady himself mentally, then delivered one of the finest performances of his career. Head coach Brian Goorjian praised both the performance and the growth behind it.
“His growth at what he’s trying to do here, shoot the ball, short game, floater, this handling pressure… being a scorer, a point guard, getting everybody involved, how do you evolve and get better at it?” he said.
“You have to be in it. The opportunity to be in this series, he’s gonna grow.
“I think he learned a lot from Game 2 leading into this one, and controlling your emotions is a big one. I thought he did a great job of growth… you can’t duplicate this in the regular season.”
“You don’t play better than that.”
Goorjian also pointed to the individual battle unfolding between the two lead guards as a defining feature of the series.
“You’re seeing the two best in that spot go at each other. It’s worth the price of admission.
“Kendric and Bryce are as good as they get. I just think you’re seeing greatness, it’s drawing out the best in both… You’re seeing two teams that are going after each other, and want it bad. The guard play for both teams has been pretty elite.”