Adelaide 36ers exorcised their Sydney Kings demons with a gutsy come-from-behind win on Friday night, Flynn Cameron’s career-high night rallying his side to a memorable victory despite a superb performance from fan villain Kendric Davis.
The clash pitted the two hottest teams in the NBL against each other, with both sides 6-1 since the FIBA break, with the 36ers winning 10 of their past 11 games, while the Kings were on a six-game winning streak and the high-quality affair didn’t disappoint.
The Sixers led by a point with a minute remaining, Bryce Cotton made it three soon after and DJ Vasiljevic iced the game with 10 seconds left with a monster three from way downtown to the delight of the sellout crowd at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre.
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Cameron fouled out in the dying seconds, but had a team-high 25 points, while Davis had a game-high 26.
The enthralling duel between leading MVP candidates Cotton and former Sixer Davis was a highlight.
Davis was the leading scorer on the court after each of the first three quarters, while Cotton was limited to nine points through three quarters and finished with 16.
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The result was the Sixers’ first win against Sydney in three attempts this season and improved their record to 18-4 to strengthen their hold on top spot.
Adelaide trailed by as much as 11 points in the third quarter, but slashed the margin to three at the last break, with Cotton draining a three to open the scoring in the final term that levelled the scores.
Sydney was without reigning NBL Sixth Man of the Year Kouat Noi (illness), who drained a game-high 29 points against Adelaide in Round 4, and lost Bul Kuol to a knee injury late in the first half, while Tim Soares fouled out with nearly six minutes left in the gripping contest.
The Kings led by a point when Soares departed, but the lead changed hands several times in a grandstand finish.
BRYCE VS KENDRIC
When the Kings visited Adelaide in Round 4, they kept the Sixers to their lowest score of the season and inflicted their heaviest defeat in a 103-79 humbling.
Cotton was restricted to just seven points that night, while Davis starred despite being lustily booed by the home fans every time he touched the ball.
The first half on Friday night played out in similar fashion with Cotton limited to seven points, while Davis led all scorers with 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting.
The Sixers trailed by as much as 11 points in the second quarter before slicing the margin to six points at the main break, but their scoring numbers were an issue.
The home side was shooting at 33 per cent from the floor, and just 16 per cent on 2-of-12 shooting from long range, to Sydney’s 53 per cent from the floor and 45 per cent from outside the arc.
Vasiljevic was emblematic of Adelaide’s shooting struggles in the first half with no points in open play on 0-of-7 shooting, but the star shooter finished with 13.
BUL BANGED UP
Bul Kuol was pivotal in shutting down Cotton in Round 4 and the Sixers appeared intent on making life difficult for him.
Zylan Cheatham emphatically blocked Kuol in the first quarter then ran over the top of the important forward as he fell to the floor, and he was knocked on his backside again shortly after when he ran straight into a rock-solid Nick Rakocevic screen that set up a Cotton triple.
Worse was to come for Kuol, who fell to the court clutching his right knee after landing awkwardly trying to defend a Rakocevic shot.
With his side leading by 11 points with just over three minutes left in the first half, the defensive tone-setter was helped to the changeroom between two trainers.
Kuol emerged from the rooms two minutes into the third quarter with an ice pack on his knee and didn’t return.
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