Sixers end Kings season in Sydney

Given the drama surrounding both teams all season it was only fitting it was an eventful Play-In Qualifier with the big three of the Adelaide 36ers outstanding as they ended the season of the Sydney Kings winning 95-88.

Despite being the lower seed, the 36ers came in as warm favourites and opened up a 16-point lead with five first-half threes from former King DJ Vasiljevic (25 points, 7/11 from deep). But Sydney fired back to lead by three quarter-time but in the end the Sixers got the job done.

Kendric Davis (24 points, six assists, five rebounds) lifted Adelaide to the win in a fascinating point guard battle with Jaylen Adams who did have 30 points and 10 assists, but also nine turnovers.

A season that saw them come into it as raging favourites is now over for the Kings while the 36ers advance to Sunday's Play-In Game at John Cain Arena against the South East Melbourne Phoenix.

The Sixers regained former Kings championship winner Jarell Martin while Sydney were without Xavier Cooks, but it was a spirited first quarter with Adelaide leading 23-22 by the end of it.

The 36ers took charge in the second period leading by as much as 16 points and Vasiljevic went into half-time with five three-pointers to his credit on his old home floor.

Adelaide appeared in control leading 51-41 with 10 points off nine Sydney turnovers of which seven came from Adams who also had 16 points and six assists in a rollercoaster first-half performance.

However, Sydney did a terrific job to turn the momentum their way in the third quarter with Cam Oliver coming up huge before Makuach Maluach kept it going and they were up 71-69 after three.

It was still just a two-point game but the 36ers closed the deal with a 10-2 run late with the scores from their big guns – Davis, Montrezl Harrell, Vasiljevic and then Jarell Martin for the seven-point win.

Despite being outrebounded by eight and having just seven offensive rebounds, and subsequently taking three fewer field goals and five less free throws, the 36ers got the job done.

On top of the 25 points from Vasiljevic and 24 from Davis, Harrell delivered 18 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and three blocks, Martin nine points and three rebounds on his return, and Isaac Humphries eight points, three rebounds, three steals and two assists.

"It's this organisation's first playoff win in a while and I don't think anybody expected it to be easy," 36ers coach Mike Wells said.

"Our path has been a difficult one and I think that game kind of played out and was a little bit of a mini version of our whole year.

"The way we played down the stretch, tons of credit to the defence. In the fourth quarter when it was winning time we made a lot of really big plays on the defensive end."

It was a season that never going as expected for the Kings with Oliver doing what he could with 19 points and 12 rebounds but without Cooks and Keli Leaulepe, it was tough going up front.

Maluach had an impressive cameo with nine points while Kouat Noi had nine points but shot just 4/13 with Bul Kuol adding nine points, five rebounds and three assists.

"This is a really hard one to swallow," Sydney coach Brian Goorjian said.

"It was very apparent with five minutes to go in the fourth quarter - it's about making plays and our group right now, what we were playing with, we were just shorthanded there."

Remarkably it was first ever finals game in the NBL between the two teams and while former King DJ Vasiljevic opened up with a three, his former championship teammate Jaylen Adams got to the line three times already in the opening minutes.

He then knocked down a three-pointer to spark an 8-0 run for Sydney to put the home team in front 16-11 before Vasiljevic responded with his second three ball. When Kendric Davis hit another three on quarter-time, it was Adelaide on top 23-22.

Vasiljevic then hit three more from downtown in the early stages of the second quarter as he made Sydney pay for having to double either Montrezl Harrell or Isaac Humphries down low because of their lack of size.

Vasiljevic's fifth triple saw the Sixers lead by seven and then it was a three-point bonanza with Sunday Dech, Jason Cadee and Davis all knocking one down each for the 36ers to lead by 16.

Kouat Noi and Adams brought that back to 10 by half-time but Adelaide were still in control with 29 points from the back court of Vasiljevic and Davis while as a team they shot 51 per cent to 36 from the Kings.

The Adelaide lead was back out to 12 early in the second half but then the Kings impressively fired up. It was firstly sparked by Next Gen Award winner Alex Toohey with his first five points.

Cam Oliver was also taking up the physical and emotional challenge to Harrell and hit a three ball, then threw down a dunk before getting right in Harrell's face who had done the same to him in the first half.

The Kings kept the momentum going with Oliver completing a 10-0 run to put the home team back in front. That's where they stayed up 71-69 by three quarter-time with seven quick points from Makuach Maluach despite a couple more long balls from Vasiljevic.

Jarell Martin opened the final quarter with a three to restore Adelaide's lead and the visitors would take control the rest of the way.

Davis kickstarted an 8-0 run with two straight buckets before Harrell scored inside on a goaltend from Oliver and let him know all about it.

Vasiljevic then scored on the fast break and let the Kings courtside fans know his thoughts and Adelaide kept their season alive.

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL FINALS 2025

SYDNEY KINGS 88 (Adams 30, Oliver 19, Noi 9, Kuol 9, Maluach 9)

ADELAIDE 36ERS 95 (Vasiljevic 25, Davis 24, Harrell 18)

BOX SCORE