History sets the stage: Kings v 36ers revisited

After a jam-packed regular season and the Playoffs that delivered big performances all over, it all comes down to the Championship Series between the top two teams in the league.

While the storylines between Adelaide and Sydney write themselves, including the two best players in the competition locking horns, let’s take a look at the season meetings between them up to this point.

Snapshot

Sydney 3 wins, Adelaide 1 win
‍The Sydney Kings would be feeling confident going into this series after the way they took care of business in the regular season, claiming three of the four games.

Across those contests, they managed to win the rebound battle three times and found success in their bench scoring as well. The biggest statistic that stands out across all four games is that the Kings averaged 14 more points in the paint than Adelaide.

Game 1

‍Round 4 - Sydney 103 def Adelaide 79
Adelaide Entertainment Centre

Leading scorers
Kouat Noi – 29 points
Flynn Cameron – 15 points

It was one of the most highly anticipated early matchups, with Kendric Davis returning to Adelaide for the first time since an off-season full of headlines. Not only that, but at the time it was the top two MVP candidates from the previous season going head-to-head.

In the end, the Kings sent a message, and their 24-point win was their biggest ever road win in Adelaide. Bryce Cotton was held to just seven points, on 3-10 shooting as it laid a blueprint for what was to become one of the best defensive teams in the league.

On the offensive end, Noi was simply unstoppable off the bench, doing most of his damage in the second half, where he had 19 of his game-high 29 points.

Game 2

‍Round 13 - Sydney 97 def Adelaide 93
Qudos Bank Arena

Leading scorers
Xavier Cooks, Kendric Davis – 27 points
Bryce Cotton – 25 points

This Ignite Cup game held in Canberra, produced one of the more exciting finishes of the season, as the Kings fought their way back to get a big overtime win. Adelaide went into half-time with a strong 13-point lead, after Cotton erupted for 18 first half points to go with five assists.

The second half told a different story, as the Kings ramped up the heat defensively and kept Cotton to just seven points and held the 36ers to 32.6 per cent shooting as a team. While Davis had a big night, it was Cooks who was virtually unstoppable in the second half, dropping 16 of his 27 points.

The extra five minutes was all about Matthew Dellavedova, who did the job defensively keeping Cotton quiet and chimed in with six points to give the Kings the win.

Game 3

‍Round 15 - Adelaide 85 def Sydney 79
Adelaide Entertainment Centre

Leading scorers
Flynn Cameron – 25 points
Kendric Davis – 26 points

In their third matchup of the season, Adelaide wanted some revenge on the hottest team in the competition in Sydney, who entered riding a six-game winning streak. Another sellout crowd in Adelaide witnessed their team get off to slow start, shooting just 37 per cent in the first quarter and having no answers to Davis.

The story out of the second quarter was the concern for Kings defensive weapon, Bul Kuol, who would suffer a season-ending ACL injury. With Sydney down one of their strongest wing options, Adelaide began to chip away at the lead and on the back of Flynn Cameron, closed to within six at half time.

Cameron picked up where he left off in the second half, pouring in a super-efficient 25-points and helping the 36ers snap the Kings’ winning run. Zylan Cheatham controlled the glass, pulling down 13 rebounds, to match the same output from Xavier Cooks.

Kouat Noi was a late out in this game, as the Kings started to see Makuach Maluach emerge as a genuine impact player within their rotation.

Game 4

Round 18 - Sydney 106 def Adelaide 101
Qudos Bank Arena

Leading scorers
Torrey Craig – 26 points
John Jenkins – 20 points

The stage was set for the fourth game between these two teams and the fifth-biggest home crowd in Kings’ history was there to witness a classic. The Adelaide 36ers were top of the table, but had been stumbling in the two weeks prior, as the Kings smelled blood in the water.

The Kings welcomed in new recruit, Torrey Craig, who wasted no time in showing why he had such a successful NBA career. The versatile forward had 17 first half points, including a perfect five-for-five from the three. While Craig was filling it up on his way to a game-high 26 points, Davis laid the table and dished out 14 assists in the game, becoming the first Kings player since Shane Heal in 2001 to record that mark.

The 36ers used a strong fourth quarter to give themselves a chance at pulling off a comeback, led by John Jenkins, who hit free threes of his own to score a team-high 20 points. Cotton was again quiet by his lofty standards, having just three points in the first three quarters, before dropping 14 in the final 10 minutes.