Cotton vs Davis explodes: Push, shove and Bryce's six finger salute

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Reigning MVP Bryce Cotton held up six fingers and Sydney Kings Grand Final MVP Kendric Davis tapped the championship logo on his singlet after the pair had to be separated after pushing each other late in Adelaide's rear-guard 84-78 win at Afterpay Arena in Sydney on Sunday, October 11, 2026 in Round 4 of NBL26.

"Sometimes people got me marked around their calendar," Cotton said seconds after the final buzzer.

"I'm quiet until you got something to say and everybody knows how I get down.

"I've been doing this for years and at the end of the day this is Adelaide versus the Kings and, you know, fortunately we came out with the win."

Davis said in the pregame build-up there was no love lost for either the (3-4) 36ers or Cotton.

Davis infamously went after Cotton in the NBL26 Grand Final Series after finishing just two votes behind the six-time MVP in the 2025-26 season.

The Kings lost their first game of the season and are 3-1.

Kings head coach Brian Goorjian said: "You can tell when Bryce comes in here and when their team comes in, they’ve got an edge to them.

"I know Kendric has as well. To be honest, I didn’t (see it) – it’s like the one that happened prior. I’m on the sideline and that’s going on over there, and I’m marching out and I kind of look over my shoulder. I caught a glimpse of it.

"But I knew coming down the backstretch of the fourth quarter, when they moved away from us, Kendric and our group were really disappointed.

"Whatever it was, what you see just shows how we feel about each other. I think our sport needs it. Happy families and, 'I respect you', big hugs – no.

"We’re looking forward to the next time. They’ve got that, and that generated a lot of support for our game in the final series, and it hasn’t gone anywhere.

"We’re not happy."

36ers head coach Trevor Gleeson backed his superstar.

"I thought the game was over," Gleeson said.

"It had nothing to do with the play and then to have the physicality out there, I was happy for Bryce to stand up for himself.

"You don’t want to see that. If it’s in the play of the game, okay. It’s off the ball. You can make your comment. You’re a commentator, you can call it whatever you want to call it, but there’s no reason for that."

What you need to know

• The Adelaide 36ers beat the Sydney Kings 84-78 at Afterpay Arena in Round 4 of NBL27, ending Sydney's unbeaten start in the clubs' first meeting since the Kings won Game 5 of last season's Championship Series, per NBL.com.au.
• The teams were level 18-18 after the first quarter and Sydney closed the second on a 9-0 run, from 35-41 to 44-41, to lead at half-time, but Adelaide won the third 20-12, went ahead for good on a three from John Jenkins III ($152,100) with 3:18 left in it, and won the fourth 23-22.
• Xavier Cooks ($308,000) led Sydney with 22 points and eight rebounds on 8-from-11 and Jenkins led Adelaide with 20 on 6-from-17 from three, while in the matchup NBL.com.au built the week around, Bryce Cotton ($473,900) had 17 points and eight assists on 6-from-20 and Kendric Davis ($436,000) had 16 points and seven assists on 6-from-19, including 1-from-8 from three.
• Adelaide made 17 threes from 50 attempts and Sydney made eight from 28, a 27-point gap from beyond the arc in a game decided by six.
• Sydney won inside the arc, 23-from-39 on twos to Adelaide's 13-from-24, but Adelaide took seven more shots, 74 to 67, on the back of 16 offensive rebounds to 12 and 11 turnovers to Sydney's 13.

Adelaide 36ers

• John Jenkins III ($152,100) top-scored with 20 points on 7-from-18, including 6-from-17 from three, in under 29 minutes, and his back-to-back threes early in the fourth quarter took a 61-58 lead to 67-58.
• Bryce Cotton ($473,900) had 17 points, a game-high eight assists and two steals on 6-from-20, including 4-from-13 from three, in almost 39 minutes, and his three with 4:48 left made it 76-64, Adelaide's biggest lead.
• Nick Rakocevic ($188,400) added 16 points, nine rebounds and four assists on 5-from-9, and made 6-from-12 at the line.
• Matt Kenyon ($69,000) had 11 points and eight rebounds, five of them offensive, on 4-from-5, including 3-from-3 from three, in 18 minutes.
• Zylan Cheatham ($339,500) had 10 points, a team-high 10 rebounds and four assists on 4-from-5, including 2-from-2 from three.
• Jacob Rigoni ($69,000) scored six points on 2-from-7, all from three, with five rebounds, and Adelaide were plus-nine with him on the floor, the best mark in the game.
• Keanu Rasmussen ($69,000) scored four points on 2-from-8, including 0-from-4 from three, in 15 minutes, and was the only 36er with a negative plus-minus, at minus-six.
• Adelaide shot 30-from-74 from the field, 17-from-50 from three and 7-from-13 at the line, with 42 rebounds, 22 assists and 11 turnovers.

Watch

NBL27

Sydney Kings vs Adelaide 36ers | Round 4 Highlights

Watch the highlights as the Sydney Kings take on the Adelaide 36ers in Round 4 of NBL27 on October 11, 2026.

Sydney Kings

• Xavier Cooks ($308,000) top-scored with 22 points, eight rebounds (four offensive) and three assists on 8-from-11, including 5-from-6 at the line.
• Kendric Davis ($436,000) had 16 points, seven assists, five rebounds and two steals on 6-from-19, including 1-from-8 from three and 3-from-5 at the line, with four turnovers, and Sydney were minus-11 with him on the floor.
• Makuach Maluach ($134,500) added 12 points on 5-from-7, including 2-from-4 from three, in under 26 minutes, and his three started the 9-0 run that closed the first half.
• Andrew Carr ($277,000) scored eight points with five rebounds on 4-from-6 in 22 minutes, picked up four fouls, and Sydney were minus-19 with him on the floor, the worst mark in the game.
• Tyler Robertson ($106,800) scored eight points on 3-from-4, including 2-from-2 from three, in 13 minutes, and Sydney were plus-six with him on the floor.
• Matthew Dellavedova ($221,300) had five points, six assists and four rebounds without a turnover in under 21 minutes.
• Torrey Craig ($290,400) had five points and eight rebounds on 2-from-11, including 1-from-7 from three, in 32 minutes.
• Sydney shot 31-from-67 from the field, 8-from-28 from three and 8-from-13 at the line, with 43 rebounds, 24 assists and 13 turnovers.