Basketball On The Internet.

QUICK-thinking, quick-acting, quick-as-a-flash Bryce Cotton sped along the Adelaide Entertainment Centre court for the match-winning basket tonight, moving faster than it took you to read this sentence. With his 15th point for the period, Cotton turned the NBL Grand Final back into an actual series, tying it at 1-1.

But it wasn't the fact Cotton's exceptional brilliance, professionalism and poise-under-pressure sealed the 91-89 win that erased the monumental 44-point Game 1 road loss in this best-of-five extravaganza.

What's turned this back into an actual series was the reaction - over-reaction? - of Sydney Kings import Kendric Davis, getting into Cotton's face post-game, signalling "three" with his fingers and needing to be dragged from the escalating conflict by teammates, led by Shaun Bruce.

The level of immaturity and sour grapes shown by the man who lives in Cotton's shadow, revealed a weaker mental approach than ever was apparent during the Kings' initial demolition of the 36ers.

That act of abject foolish selfishness by Davis will be more difficult for Kings coach Brian Goorjian to assuage, overcome and rectify than the offensive impotence of his team in its 12-23 final term capitulation.

After all, Sydney took a 77-68 buffer into the final quarter but Cotton's 15 points (4-of-6 FG including two 3s, 5-of-5 FTs) certainly eclipsed Davis' three points off 3-of-3 early free throws, before he went 0-of-4 the rest of the way, twice also fouling Cotton amid the final quarter drama.

He simply let his own personal issues with being Bryce's bridesmaid take over his better instincts and not only handed Adelaide an extremey hard-fought win, but also the jubilation and relief of knowing its toughest offensive match-up is way up in his own headspace and very vulnerable.

After Sydney produced an early dunkfest in which Xavier Cooks (18 points at 57 per cent, 10 rebounds, 2 blocks) was prominent and Torrey Craig stuck 5-of-5 threes in a 17-point first-half, the 36ers struck back in the second quarter.

Ahead by halftime, they then had to weather a 25-15 third quarter, during which Sydney crept as far as 14 ahead.

But the last quarter simply belonged to Cotton who refused to let his team lose. While his teammates at times were way too Cotton-conscious - Zylan Cheatham even passing up an open look in the middle of the keyway to pass it back out - Sydney ran out of players keen to take the big shot.

Forced into bad shots and late shot-clock heaves by a 36ers defence growing in confidence with every Kings misstep, Cotton tied the game from the stripe at 87-87.

Tim Soares threw down a big dunk but Nick Rakocevic cancelled it, the contest down to the final plays, Davis deciding to be the hero but forced into a tough lay-up in traffic.

Rakocevic spilt the ball loose, Cotton pounced and was up the floor so fast, Craig barely had time to try and block his shot, the six-time league MVP switching to his left hand to complete a remarkable match-winning play in a 28-point return.

Mike Wells' decision to stay with his "magnificent seven", resticting Isaac White and Matt Kenyon to a tally of less than five minutes between them, was important.

It meant his best players fought it out, Isaac Humphries still under-utilised but solid for six points on 3-of-3 shooting, eight rebounds and a career-high six blocks in 20 minutes.

John Jenkins (14 points at 50 per cent) found his stroke, possibly inspired by Flynn Cameron who enjoyed his best match of the post-season with 17 points, including 4-of-7 threes.

Though unusually shy offensively, Cheatham produced seven points, eight rebounds and seven assists, Dejan Vasiljevic hit 12 points and Rakocevic paired seven points with nine rebounds.

The Kings again had the blueprint for success but other agendas got in the way, opening the door for Adelaide to head into Sydney with renewed confidence.

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

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

Game 3: Sunday, Qudos Bank Arena

Game 4: Wednesday, Adelaide Entertainment Centre

Game 5 (If required): Sunday, Qudos Bank Arena