Basketball On The Internet.

MULTIPLE NBL Championship winning coach Brian Goorjian today again showed his mastery of the big occasion by drawing a record-setting performance from his occasionally wayward superstar Kendric Davis, as their Sydney Kings seized a 2-1 Grand Final lead over a desperate Adelaide.

The 106-93 victory came in the wake of Friday's series-levelling 89-91 loss in Adelaide, where six-time league MVP and 36ers star Bryce Cotton closed proceedings with a match-winning fast-break under pressure on the buzzer.

That prompted a petulant reaction from Davis, clapping in Cotton's face and indicating Game 3 to come with his fingers, while aggressively jawing at his conqueror. Teammates fortunately quickly intervened before the confrontation had time to further escalate but it did leave a sense the dynamic of this series had shifted.

Davis' behaviour took the 36ers from feeling relieved they cashed a "Get Out of Jail" card after their 44-point mauling in Game 1, to a sense of "hey, we might have these guys".

It also meant Goorjian, architect of a 3-1 regular season-series success over the Sixers and also that championship opening game record massacre, now had more on his plate than just a 1-1 situation in the best-of-five Final.

If bringing his Kings back to earth to focus on the reality of what was at stake was his main objective, then he seriously over-achieved.

For starters, a record Kings attendance at Qudos Bank Arena of 18,373 was on hand, setting the scene for a clash that could only have one outcome.

And Davis was key to it. How would he respond to his own reckless behaviour?

Well, the only description is he responded in the best way possible.

He became the first player in NBL history to score 34 points, 15 assists, with zero turnovers. (Thanks to @nblfacts on X for that info)

His 15 assists is the most by any player in an NBL Grand Final Series, eclipsing the record Perth Wildcats icon Ricky Grace (right) set in Game 1 of the 1995 championship against North Melbourne Giants.

Grace dished 14 assists in a series Perth ultimately won.

Davis today was controlled, measured and smart, his 34 points delivered on 11-of-19 shooting, or 58 per cent. And Goorjian backed him in for the full 40 minutes.

Meanwhile, he had Matthew Dellavedova (8 assists, 6 rebounds, 3 points) defensively working over Cotton from the tip-off and when he was receiving a well-earned breather, Jaylin Galloway, Makuach Maluach and Torrey Craig tag-teamed the little master.

In truth though, every Kings player was abundantly super-conscious of Cotton's presence at all times, and while he still dished 12 assists, he also compiled five turnovers and his 15 points came at an often rushed 33 per cent. Two of his threes came inside the last three minutes.

It's absurd to say he wasn't a factor because the entire Kings defence was attuned to him. But it was more than helpful John Jenkins (team-high 22 points at 67 per cent, 6-of-10 threes) came off the bench and lit up the first quarter.

His 14 first-quarter points came on a perfect 5-of-5 shooting, with four 3-point swishes and he looked every inch as initially advertised. Adelaide's 31-24 lead at the first break largely came on Jenkins' unexpected output and a considerably more aggressive offensive mindset from Zylan Cheatham (17 points at 67 per cent, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 block).

Xavier Cooks (18 points at 67 per cent, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 blocks) opened the second quarter scoring, 3-pointers by Davis and the impressive Galloway (17 points at 60 per cent, 5-of-8 threes) pushing Sydney 32-31 clear within 90 seconds of the restart.

It was an arm-wrestle from there to halftime, Cheatham's basket ensuring the 36ers led 53-52 at halftime, the identical interval scoreline as in Game 2.

The wrestle continued in the third term, Sydney ahead 73-70 at the last break before a Kings sequence, which included triples from Tim Soares and Galloway, forced a time-out, Sydney 80-70 clear.

Craig, whose shot deserted him for the first time this season, was ironically the King who bumped the lead to 12 at 88-76, Davis' three free throw makes taking the buffer out to 15.

The journey back was growing into a nightmare for the 36ers, Cooks stringing together cool baskets for a 95-79 lead with 3:15 left.

The final 106-93 scoreline reflected Sydney's 33-23 dominance of the last quarter as the Sixers hit the wall, Shaun Bruce off the bench to add a 3-point punctuation point on the Game 3 win.

Heading home to Adelaide for Game 4, the 36ers can take solace from the historical fact no opposition team has ever won the NBL championship in Adelaide.

They have done so in Perth, Melbourne, Sydney, Wollongong, Brisbane and Townsville, but never at Apollo Stadium, the Clipsal Powerhouse or Adelaide Entertainment Centre.

It may be cold comfort.

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: Wednesday, Adelaide Entertainment Centre

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