Wells: Last quarter threes, free-throws cost us

Adelaide 36ers Head Coach Mike Wells has lamented his side’s inability to stop Sydney scoring in the final period of Sunday’s Game Three loss in the NBL Championship Series.

The Kings outscored the Sixers 33-23 on their way to a 106-93 win after a game that featured 30 lead changes at Qudos Bank Arena.

They were well served by former Sixer Kendrick Davis who had 34 points while Wells’ side spread the scoring with six players hitting double figures, including John Jenkins top scoring with 22 to go with two assists and a rebound.

While disappointed not to have won, Wells saw plenty of positives, particularly up until three quarter time.

“It was still tight for three quarters,” he said, “It was 73 – 70 at the break, and they outscored us 33-23 in the fourth.

“That's probably not the way you're going to be able to win playoff basketball on the road.

“It's going to be a possession game and a grindout game. It was threes and free throws in the fourth (that got us).”

The Kings went to the line 23 times to 11 and the Sixers racked up 24 fouls to 11 for the game for the second time in Sydney in this series, earning just four for the entire second half.

Wells questioned the manhandling of his star Bryce Cotton, in particular by veteran Matthew Dellavedova, but said he would need to watch the game back to determine if it was worth raising the officiating with the league.

“Matthew Dellavedova played how many minutes?” Wells questioned. “He had zero fouls.

“This was the exact same thing that we had in game one. Now, scoring was different but the foul output for the game in game one was 11 to 24. This was 11 to 24.

“The main guy that's on Bryce Cotton had zero fouls, and he's guarding him like this [gesturing]. That's not a legal guarding position.

“(Torrey) Craig had two. (Makuach) Malauach had two. So that's it. They literally draped all over him, and (the referees) are excellent officials, but if he can't run up the floor, and those guys have no fouls, and then vice versa, and Bryce only got three fouls drawn…

“If we're not going to be able to play at the same level and compete at the same level… if they want to beat up the MVP and take him out, that's what the refs have allowed him to do.

“He doesn't even get to the free throw line. That was the exact same game as game one, except the point differential was different. We were in this game to win this game, but we didn't have a chance to do that.”

For some reason the Sydney crowd was booing Cotton whenever he had possession of the ball but he and his teammates flew out of the blocks to lead by seven points at the first break.

Cotton had five first-quarter points while dishing off four dimes, many to John Jenkins who hit 5/5 from the field to have 14 points in the first period.

The Kings were back in front within 90 second-period seconds before a well-timed time-out allowed the Sixers to strike back, with Zylan Cheatham going to work. He laid on eight points for the quarter to go with four rebounds and two assists as the visitors went into the locker room at half time with the slenderest of leads.

With the home crowd lifting in volume, former Sixer Kendrick Davis and Jaylin Galloway got the Kings flowing and into the lead by three points at three quarter time. Davis had reached 29 points by that point to lead all comers.

He would finish with 34 and despite the best efforts of Flynn Cameron, Cheatham, and Jenkins in particular the Sixers went down by 13 after a 33-23 last quarter.

After the game, Wells remained positive that his side had another level to reach, and that it would do so when the sides meet again in Adelaide on Wednesday night.

“You give Sydney Kings the nod of what they've been able to do,” he said.

“The good thing is, I know there's another level or two with my group that we can get to.

“We've shown it and we're going to have to show it again in an elimination game. If we don't show it, then, you know, we're going fishing.”

Game Four is at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre from 7pm on Wednesday night.