It was billed as a battle of the NBL’s two best players as star guards Kendric Davis and Bryce Cotton went toe-to-toe.
Davis scored a decisive knockout in their first meeting, but Cotton came into the contest as the clear MVP favourite with Adelaide sitting pretty at the top of the table.
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Through three quarters the two were both solid in an Ignite Cup blockbuster in Canberra, as the Kings came back from 18 points down in the second quarter to lead by one heading into the fourth.
Just as the Kings looked like they could close out the contest with a four-point lead inside the final two minutes, Cotton (25 points, six rebounds, nine assists) stepped up with five quick points to put the 36ers back in front.
Davis (27 points, six rebounds, seven assists) answered the call, running the floor after a missed free throw to beat the buzzer by the narrowest of margins to send the match into overtime.
Matthew Dellavedova took over in the extra period, dropping six including the match-sealing free throws to guide Sydney to a 97-93 victory in one of the games of the season.
DOING THEIR HOMEWORK
Adelaide had their pants pulled down when these two sides met back in round four, scoring just 19 points in the first term and never finding their rhythm offensively.
They had no such issues this time around as Cotton’s defence led to attack and DJ Vasiljevic dropped 11 points in five minutes off the bench.
The former King was cooking his old team, which made the decision to sub him out with 1.21 left in the first quarter all the more puzzling.
TANDEM GOES BANG
The 36ers turned the screws in the second quarter as they out-hustled the Kings to open up an 18-point margin midway through the term.
Their defence went to another level, restricting Sydney to just 20 points for the quarter as they dominated the boards (24-12), leaving their opponent’s generally strong defence scrambling to keep up with their high-octane play.
Strike weapons Cotton and Vasiljevic had 32 combined at the half, while Davis was the only King in double digits as Adelaide opened up a 13-point lead at the main break.
GOORJ IGNITES KINGS
Whatever Brian Goorjian told his troops at halftime, it worked.
They came out of the sheds as a brand new team, completely shutting down Adelaide’s offence.
Their stingy defence restricted them to just nine points for the quarter, as Xavier Cooks took over with 10 in the quarter to lift Sydney to an unlikely one-point advantage heading into the fourth, before going on to finish with a season-high 27 points.
FIRE UP THE CANNONS
Canberra played host to an NBL fixture for just the second time since 2008 as the case mounts for a return for the Cannons to the league.
The locals did their part, packing the stands with a sellout crowd of 4154 at the AIS Arena despite the unfavourable Wednesday night timeslot.
It comes after the capital did a good job of showing up for the pre-season CODE Sports Blitz.
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