"Time stands still for the great ones": Cotton adds to legacy

One of the main storylines all season and of the Hungry Jack’s NBL26 Championship Series has been the rivalry between Bryce Cotton and Kendric Davis.

Through the first two games of the Series, the rivalry has not only delivered, but it’s gone up a notch.

Davis got the chocolates in Game 1, as his Kings dismantled the 36ers at Qudos Bank Arena.

And just when it looked like Sydney was going to go up 2-0, after leading by as many as 14 in the second, Cotton had other ideas.

The six-time MVP, who edged Davis by just two votes for this year’s award, scored 15 of his game-high 28 in the fourth quarter, including a game-winner, to secure Adelaide the two-point win.

Davis, meanwhile, struggled from the field shooting 6-of-25.

“It's a difficult [situation], because he [Davis] is the guy that's been getting it done all season. He's been their MVP performer,” 1990 MVP Derek Rucker said of Davis taking the last shot for the Kings.

“But in this game, as Andrew Gaze alluded to several times [on broadcast], he did not have it going. He finished six of 25 from the field, and he went in there, attempted a really tough layup, which just fell short.

“I led to a run-out fast-break opportunity for Cotton. Bryce then looks at the clock so he gets to halfway and assesses the time beautifully.

“As we said in the call, time stands still for the great ones, and with Bryce Cotton with the ball in hand, he knew exactly what he was doing the whole time.

“He lays it up with two-tenths of a second left. He's a genius.”

Tempers erupted post-game when Davis and Cotton came face-to-face after the buzzer.

“All of that brotherhood [between Cotton and Davis], that's gone now,” Rucker said.

“They're on the top two teams in the competition, and I don't think two uber competitors like these two guys can really have a bromance.

“I don't think that is feasible, and we saw it explode big time right here for the first time.

“There was a lot of tension all week, and the buildup to this game has been tremendous.

“There was a lot of pressure on Bryce Cotton, unlike anything I've seen in NBL history, after Kendric Davis was sublime in Game 1.

“I'm sure he wanted to come out here and prove himself and take Game 2. Unfortunately, it didn't go that way for the Kings. There's nothing in this Series now.”

>> Championship Series tickets, schedule & more

Rucker also commented on Cotton’s shot and performance, and what the result at large for Adelaide means for the series.

“Bryce has now found his way into this Series,” he said.

“[In saying that] I don't think there's any problem in terms of the Sydney Kings.

“[Both teams] have got a quick turnaround, and I'm not sure that benefits Bryce.

“There's going to be a lot of challenges provided to him physically. Can he regroup? Can the Adelaide 36ers as a whole mentally regroup and lift themselves for what's going to be a crazy Sunday afternoon crowd at Qudos Bank Arena?

“[At the end of the day] when it comes to the Championship Series, it does not matter how you get it done. You’ve just got to collect W's, and right now, each team's collected one.”

Game 3 of the Championship Series tips off at 2.30pm AEDT at Qudos Bank Arena, live on ESPN and 10.

>> Cotton calm amid chaos after Game 2 drama