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A MISSED free throw or a missed opportunity? It doesn't really matter as Zylan Cheatham tickled a triple-double en route to Adelaide tying the NBL's best-of-five Grand Finals 2-2 with a 92-91 Game 4 great escape that swings the pressure of expectation onto the Kings in Sunday's series decider in Sydney.

While still inclined to pass up reasonably good open looks, Cheatham's game-high 23 points came on 10-of-17 shooting (59 per cent), while he also helped himself to eight rebounds, dished nine assists and for good measure, stole the ball twice.

His was the stand-out performance in a magnificent example of how spectacular and exciting great basketball games can still look.

For the 10,068 fans in attendance at Adelaide Entertainment Centre - the noise meter affirming they were 99 per cent 36ers' fans - the contest played out in similar fashion to Adelaide's 91-89 Game 2 win.

Kings fans should have seen it the same way too. Sure, Game 4 didn't come down to a last-second match-winning basket, but it did again come down to a last-second play - this time a set of free throws.

Sadly for Sydney fans, Torrey Craig had easily his least impactful game of the championship series and only looked the confident NBA veteran when he stepped up to take the first of his two freebies, Adelaide 92-90 ahead.

He clunked his second one to the left of the ring and read exactly where it was going, leaping for the rebound. If his plan was to deliberately miss, snare the offensive board and score a winning basket, he miscalculated by shooting it to the left.

Isaac Humphries was there and clasped his mits around that rebound, his 10th to go with his 10 points, and it was a case of next stop - Sydney on Sunday.

The match's similarities with Game 2 - as a tight, high calibre contest where the Kings appeared to always hold the slight edge but Adelaide was never far away - was uncanny.

Again in the third quarter, as per Game 2, Sydney looked ready to run away with it but fell into the trap of a few poor decisions and the 36ers could sniff their opportunity.

The Kings went right away from their earlier offensive structures in the final quarter, Kendric Davis (22 points at 50 per cent, 10 assists) consistently over-dribbling until Sydney needed to take bad shots as a shot-clock violation loomed.

Adelaide's defence assuredly had something to do with it but so did Davis' over-handling.

And while the 36ers were a little less Bryce Cotton-centric in their offence, he played the full 40 minutes for his 19 points at 36 per cent, and 12 assists.

The usually-reliable Nick Rakocevic was less so, and fouling out was an unsung blessing because it meant more court-time for Humphries, who was solid and a keyway presence.

Sydney had the game at its mercy but Xavier Cooks' collecting his third foul in the second quarter was undisciplined, Tim Soares, despite pairing 10 points and nine boards, was more a defensive embarrassment than a liability.

His ability to lose his man is second-to-none in this series and the 36ers fully exploited his ball-watching tendencies. 

When it mattered, Dejan Vasiljevic and Flynn Cameron hit baskets and Cotton was an ever-present threat, despite Matthew Dellavedova and Co, making him work extra hard for his buckets.

Perhaps Sydney's biggest error was over-looking Jaylin Galloway (20 points at 55 per cent, 5-of-9 threes in 24 minutes) at crunch time. Galloway always looked a major scoring threat and his absence in the last quarter when the Kings' offence dried up was a telling factor.

And so the series heads to Sydney for a Grand Final showdown. Who could ask for more?

NBL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES (Best-of-5)

Game 1: Sydney Kings 112 (Davis 25, Soares 22, Galloway 15, Maluach 12, Craig 11; Soares 8 rebs; Davis 7 assts) d Adelaide 36ers 68 (White 11, Humphries, Rakocevic, Cotton 10; Cheatham 7 rebs; Cotton 7 assts) at Qudos Bank Arena. Crowd: 13,181 Kings lead series 1-0

Game 2: Adelaide 36ers 91 (Cotton 28, Cameron 17, Jenkins 14, Vasiljevic 12; Rakocevic 9 rebs; Cheatham 7 assts) d Sydney Kings 89 (Davis 20, Cooks 18, Craig 17; Craig, Cooks 10 rebs; Dellavedova 7 assts) at Adelaide Entertainment Centre. Crowd: 10,058 Series tied 1-1

Game 3: Sydney Kings 106 (Davis 34, Cooks 18, Galloway 17, Soares 12; Soares 10 rebs; Davis 15 assts) d Adelaide 36ers 93 (Jenkins 22, Cheatham 17, Cotton 15, Humphries, Cameron 12; Cheatham 10 rebs; Cotton 12 assts) at Qudos Bank Arena. Crowd: 18,373 Kings lead series 2-1

Game 4: Adelaide 36ers 92 (Cheatham 23, Cotton, Vasiljevic 19, Cameron 11, Humphries 10; Humphries 10 rebs; Cotton 12 assts) d Sydney Kings 91 (Davis 22, Galloway 20, Cooks 16, Maluach 11, Soares 10; Soares 9 rebs; Davis 10 assts) at Adelaide Entertainment Centre. Crowd: 10,068 Series tied 2-2

Game 5: Sunday, Qudos Bank Arena