'We don't teach flopping': Wells puts Kings D on BLAST

• ‍Game 1: 'Saturday night slaughter' as KD's Kings fire first shot‍
• Game 2: Cotton game-winner levels series as KD loses his cool‍
• Game 3: 'All love' as KD talks Cotton clash as Kings take Game 3

Mike Wells: The Sydney Kings are “beating up” six-time MVP Bryce Cotton with impunity.

Brian Goorjian: “The game for us is defending him without fouling and keeping your hands off him.”

There are always three sides to the story, and usually somewhere in the middle is the truth.

The Kings held home court advantage 106-93 in Game 3 in front of an NBL record crowd of more than 18,000 at Qudos Bank Arena on Sunday, March 29, 2026.

Game 4 is on April Fool’s Day (April 1, 2026) at 7pm (AEDT).

“Matthew Dellavedova played how many minutes? He had zero fouls, guys. Zero fouls. This was the exact same thing we had in Game 1,” 36ers head coach Wells said.

“The foul output in Game 1 was 11–24. This was 11–24 again. The main guy guarding Bryce Cotton had zero fouls, and he’s guarding him like that. That’s not a legal guarding position. (Torrey) Craig had two, Maluach had two — that’s it.

“They literally draped all over him. If he can’t run up the floor and those guys have no fouls, and Bryce only got three fouls drawn, those are big plays. If they want to beat up the MVP and take him out, that’s what the refs have allowed them to do.

“They only had four fouls the entire second half. Let that sink in. That’s hard when we’re trying to break the paint, move the ball, collapse the defence and get it to Bryce.

“If John Jenkins shoots an airball and he’s been shooting well, there’s probably a reason why. Same with Flynn Cameron late. It’s clear as day.

“Matthew Dellavedova didn’t foul the whole night. That’s hard for me.

“I’ve got a lot of emotion about it right now. When I see the foul count — 24 to 11 — that’s hard for me.

“We’re trying to get downhill, play similar styles, and create contact. Bryce is all over the court trying to attack. If he goes flying, it’s probably because he got pushed.

“We don’t teach flopping. We don’t teach holding or illegal screens. We try to play legal defence.

“There has to be freedom of movement. We have to be able to see hands and allow players to play in space. That’s what makes basketball great.”

Cotton, 33, finished with 15 points on 5-from-15 from the field in almost 40 minutes. Dellavedova played 22:23 minutes in Game 3 compared to 27:29 in Game 2.

“The game for us is defending him (Cotton) without fouling and keeping your hands off him,” Goorjian said.

“Fouling him on top of everything else would be a travesty. We’re constantly talking about it, moving bodies, adjusting, and trying to make it as hard as possible without being dirty or fouling.

“He’s a tremendous player — you’re not going to stop him all the time. But over a series, you get better at it. I think we were better in Game 3 than Game 1.

“He’s in incredible condition — I compare it to Patty Mills with the Boomers. He hasn’t lost a step.

“But he’s human. It’s not one guy guarding him; it’s multiple guys. He still hit two big threes in the fourth.

“We’re hoping over time to wear him down. It’s a big ask for him with how we’re defending him.”

The 36ers go as far as Cotton goes, and Wells knows it just as much as every basketball fan and critic does.

“I think he’s a true professional,” Wells added.

“He leads by example. He doesn’t really force a lot of shots. There are actually times where I’m asking him to find shots and probably be a little more aggressive at times on the offensive end because there’s such a crowd around him.

“We’ve got to figure out how to play balanced basketball. We’ve got to have those other guys make plays, and we did that for a long time. I thought we played through a lot of things in the first half to be up one.

“There was a moment in the third where we didn’t have control, but I thought we were in a really good position to start the fourth.

“Then obviously we didn’t have a lot of rhythm on either side of the ball. Give them credit, but I didn’t feel like we could get into that rhythm.”

The foul count is the foul count, but when MVP-runner up Kendric Davis delivers one of the most complete games in NBL Grand Final history — 34 points at 58% to go with 15 assists and NO turnovers in 40 minutes — that’s an advantage.

“Fifteen assists, zero turnovers — he’s a tremendous player,” Wells conceded.

“It’s one thing when he scores, but when he’s doing both points and assists, it’s harder.

“We tried to get him into different areas, but you’ve got to give his teammates credit. They made plays. That’s why they’ve been so good. They’re a well-oiled machine with a lot of ways to score.”

Goorjian revealed Davis was “upset” after Game 2, going 6-for-25 to get 20 points in the two-point loss.

“I like his tenacity,” Goorjian said.

“He’s totally locked into the team right now — there’s no talk about tomorrow.

“He was extremely upset after Game 2. He’s strong-willed, and what you see is what you get.

“You weigh him over the series and the season, and you guys are telling me it’s one of the best finals performances you’ve seen.

“We love him here, and we love coaching him.

“His growth is in handling pressure, controlling the game, and getting others involved.

“You can’t duplicate this in the regular season. Being in this series helps him grow.

“I thought he learned a lot from Game 2 and showed growth in Game 3, especially in controlling his emotions.”