You have to fear for the longevity of this NBL Championship Series.
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The Kendric Davis-led Sydney Kings are in a different stratosphere to the Adelaide 36ers, if the 112-68 game 1 beatdown at Qudos Bank Arena is any indication.
The 44-point margin was the biggest win in Kings’ postseason history, while it was the worst for the hapless 36ers.
The rampaging Kings rolled to their 14th consecutive win, backing up from their semi final series sweep of the Perth Wildcats to embarrass the listless 36ers in the opener of their best-of-five season deciding series.
If this was a boxing match, the towel would have been thrown in from the 36ers corner in the third quarter when the deficit ballooned out beyond 30.
Uber confident Kings guard Davis talked the talk after awards night, angry that he was not adjudged the league MVP after leading his side to the number one seed in the finals, but he let his basketball do the talking with a starring role in game 1.
The 26-year-old American import produced a smooth 25 points and seven assists and was a +38 in plus-minus to be the dominant guard on the court.
The man who beat Davis to the league MVP, six-time league’s best Bryce Cotton, checked out early in the fourth quarter after a largely ineffective performance, preserving his body for a must-win game 2 for his side in Adelaide on Friday night.
Operation Bryce
It took just 35 seconds for the Kings to rough up superstar Cotton.
In an off-the-ball play, Kings veteran Matthew Dellavedova put an accidental high shot on Cotton, which floored the six-time MVP.
While it was not deemed a hostile act, it was an indication of how close checking the Kings would defend Cotton in this series.
The Kings wore down Cotton by sending waves of fresh bodies his way to defend him, including fearsome double teams.
Cotton rarely gets rattled, but the Kings seemed to get in the 33-year-old’s head, as he checked out with just 10 points on 4/12 shooting, including 1/5 from three.
Frustration shown by MVP towards coach | 00:28
Handshake snub sparks spicy scenes
With the game over, Andrew Bogut and Nick Rakocevic came head-to-head in the handshake line where frustrations boiled over.
“And we’ve got chaos in front of us,” Derek Rucker said.
While cameras did not capture the incident, Andrew Gaze reported that Rakocevic “did not want to shake hands”.
“Bogut put out his hands and when he didn’t shake his hand, Bogut gave him a tap on the shoulder and Rakocevic didn’t want none of it,” Gaze added.
Kings running hot
The odds are tightening for a sixth Kings championship, but it is a long series and no two games are the same.
With Cotton shook up, the Kings came storming out of the blocks to lead 31-23 at quarter time.
The 36ers defence was bleeding points, unable to handle the breakneck speed which the Davis-led Kings attacked them with.
Tenacious Torrey
Kings import Torrey Craig dominated the opening period with nine points on a perfect 4/4 from the field.
With their starters off the pace early, the 36ers turned to the bench with Nick Rakocevic, a late season force who has likely played himself into a contract extension, providing a rearguard with eight first quarter points as part of a 10-point game, while Isaac White, little used in the semi final series, led the Sixers with 11.
With the 36ers offence choked, the Kings stretched their lead to a whopping 22 midway through the second.
The 36ers were smashed on the interior, out-rebounded 47-28.
Big man stars
Kings centre Tim Soares was a dominant force with 22 points, eight rebounds and three assists, while Jaylin Galloway provided an outlet with 15 points, four rebounds and three assists.
The Kings continued the onslaught at the start of the third with an 8-0 run to extend their lead to 28 with Soares and Galloway hitting threes.
When the margin hit 33 midway through the third, it was starting to get embarrassing for the Sixers, who had completely run out of answers.
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