The Adelaide 36ers held off a spirited Sydney Kings fightback to record an 88-81 win on Sunday afternoon.

After Sydney charged to the lead early in the final quarter both teams exchanged multiple big shots before the 36ers held on for the win after leading by 13 points late in the third.

Adelaide were led by big man Luke Schenscher (18 points, 5 rebounds) and the shooting of Jason Cadee (15 points), Stephen Weigh (14 points) and Adam Gibson (11 points) at big moments.

Trailing with 3min 30sec to go in the fourth quarter, Gibson and Cadee’s three-pointers were the daggers as the 36ers shot 8-of-12 from three-point territory.

“As a coach, you want your players to feel confident enough to take big shots and the guys did a great job,” Adelaide coach Marty Clarke said.

"And to get the mix between staying calm defensively and feeling good offensively is the hard bit, but we managed to do that."

The Kings' man of the moment Ben Madgen (20 points) did his best to inspire their late-game revival but it wasn’t enough to see them home.

“The mistakes and mental lapses are real momentum breakers, we have to stay switched on,” Madgen said.

“It’s a bit heartbreaking and frustrating, so we have to clean that up if we’re going to win more games.”

Aaron Bruce (15 points, 4 assists) and import Darnell Lazare (14 points) also showed flashes of inspiration, but they simply had no answer to the 36ers' sustained pressure.

The Kings started the game on fire, quickly racing to an early lead off the back of a scintillating 12-point burst.

Lazare and Ian Crosswhite were in the thick of the action under the boards, but as the quarter progressed the 36ers hustled their way back into the contest.

“We came out exceptionally well and we haven’t been doing that this season,,” Kings coach Shane Heal said.

"But once we put our foot on the throttle and got to a 12-point lead we relaxed and made some bad decisions."

From there it became a seesaw battle with both teams trading buckets, Mitch Creek's flying blocked shot a highlight as Adelaide ended the half in front by a single point.

Heal's attempts to galvanise his troops at half-time didn’t have the desired effect, with Cadee, Gibson and Schenscher continuing to pile on the misery as the 36ers established their 13-point lead.

But Sydney unleashed a 22-6 run bridging three-quarter-time as their perimeter marksmen found their range and the momentum was with the home team.

“This team has a lot of character, because we came back, but we have to play with that sort of urgency and smarts all the way through and we’re not doing that,” coach Heal said.

It was Adelaide who hit the big shots when it mattered, though, to prevail by seven.

Adelaide 36ers 88 (Schenscher 18, Cadee 15, Weigh 14)
Sydney Kings 81 (Madgen 20, Bruce 15, Lazare 14)

Crowd: 4660 at Sydney Entertainment Centre