The NBL Championship Series is going to a fifth and deciding game after Adelaide 36ers pulled off a stunning victory against Sydney Kings, Zylan Cheatham starring in a pulsating one-point win on Wednesday night.
The Sixers needed to win Game 4 to send the series to a decider, and they leveled it at 2-2 with a brilliant 92-91 victory in front of a roaring home crowd at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre.
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The Kings led by two points heading into the final term, but scores were level with three minutes remaining left, with the crowd at fever pitch.
On a night of high drama, Kendric Davis leveled the scores with two free throws with two minutes left, and with the game still tied with a minute left, Bryce Cotton was sent to the line and put the home side up by two.
The Sixers led by two points as the seconds ticked down, but Torrey Craig went to the foul line with just two seconds left and the import missed his second free throw to send the crowd into raptures.
The result sets up the championship decider that takes place on Sunday afternoon at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney.
36ers double down on ref complaints | 01:46
PUMP UP THE VOLUME
The fanatical Adelaide fans are known for being loud, but they found a new level in the pulsating opening minutes.
It was touch-and-go who was booed louder between Matthew Dellavedova and Davis. The first time Davis touched the ball he was greeted by deafening boos that rained down from the stands that somehow got louder when he missed his first shot from the floor.
The loudest cheers came when Cotton landed his first points of the night to put his side up by four points two minutes in.
But Jaylin Galloway was prominent with eight points as the visitors went on an early 11-2 run to lead by eight.
Cotton’s early basket was his only of the first term, and Davis fared little better with four.
But John Jenkins and Zylan Cheatham stepped up with six apiece for the home side to slice the margin to two points at the first break.
NEXT LEVEL
The highly entertaining contest was played at a high level by both sides and that quality went to new heights in the second quarter.
Xavier Cooks was a key factor for the Kings with 11 points with two minutes left in the first half, but he had to sit down after he picked up a third foul.
Davis warmed to the task with 11 first-half points and Jaylin Galloway continued to play at a high level, with a game-high 14 points in the first half, including four three-pointers from six attempts.
Kendric stars as Kings take 2-1 lead | 02:10
The visitors shot 7-from-14 from outside the arc in the first half to Adelaide’s 4-from-13 (31 per cent).
Cotton had eight points in the first half and missed his only three-point attempt, with no teammate able to sink more than one triple as long-range shooting started to become an issue for the home side.
An enthralling first half had 12 lead changes, with Sydney up by seven at the main break.
DJ Vasiljevic and Isaac Humphries led the 36ers with 10 points apiece to halftime, but Vasiljevic’s radar from long range was off with 1-from-6 shooting.
HANGIN’ TOUGH
The Kings threatened to pull away as the third quarter progressed, but the 36ers dug deep and a Cotton triple dragged the margin back to three points midway through the term.
In the blink of an eye, the Sixers had to hang tough again with the margin back out to nine when Makuach Maluach hit a triple.
Cheatham had eight points in the third quarter and his tip in as the seconds ran down sliced the margin to two points to set up a grandstand finish.
Davis GOES AFTER Cotton in wild finish | 01:11