Live: Tempestuous NBL Finals comes down to game five between Kings and 36ers

After big men Tim Soares and Isaac Humphries score the first six points, Kendric Davis thinks he’s drawn a foul as he forces a shot up, but there’s no whistle.

Up the other end, Humphries works his way down low and the refs say he is fouled by Xavier Cooks on the reverse lay-up attempt.

Humphries knocks down both free throws.

Xavier Cooks wins the tip and the Kings get the first look, with Kendric Davis putting a move on Zylan Cheatham to set up Tim Soares for the opening points from under the rim.

Sydney Kings: Kendric Davis, Matthew Dellavedova, Jaylin Galloway, Xavier Cooks, Tim Soares

Adelaide 36ers: Bryce Cotton, Dejan Vasiljevic, Zylan Cheatham, Flynn Cameron, Isaac Humphries

We’re expecting an NBL record crowd for tonight’s finals game five.

These are the top two teams this season and feature the top two players.

Adelaide’s Bryce Cotton pipped Sydney’s Kendric Davis by just two votes for the 2025/26 NBL MVP — Cotton’s sixth and third in a row.

The contest between this pair has been gripping from the jump.

In this finals series, they’ve of course been their teams’ go-to guys in terms of scoring (*Team high, ^Game high).

• Davis: 25^, 20*, 34^, 22*
• Cotton: 10, 28^, 15, 19

They’ve also topped the assists for their teams and will no doubt be the point of attack again this afternoon.

Adelaide hasn’t been crowned the NBL champion since 2002, when the 36ers took down the now-defunct West Sydney Razorbacks in a three-game series to win their fourth title.

That came after championships in 1986, 1998 and 1999.

The 36ers have reached the finals twice in recent years, but lost 2-1 to Perth in 2014 and 3-2 to Melbourne United in 2018.

The Sydney Kings have won five NBL titles (from 2003-05 and 2022-23).

After winning game two of the series, the 36ers made a complaint about “persistent and repeated personal attacks” by Kings co-owner and assistant coach Andrew Bogut towards Adelaide owner Grant Kelley.

The pair were involved in a face-to-face confrontation after the game.

Kings chief executive Mark Thompson said the club does “not support any commentary from either team that goes beyond the court”.

“Emotions run high during Championships, which we have seen from both sides over the past three games,” he said.

36ers coach Mike Wells has also complained a couple of times about the officiating in the series.

Here’s how the 2026 NBL Finals series has played out so far, leaving us 2-2 heading into this afternoon’s decider:

• Game one: Kings thump Adelaide 112-68 in Sydney
• Game two: 36ers beat Kings 91-89 on Bryce Cotton’s last-second lay-up in Adelaide
• Game three: Kings ride Kendric Davis’s 34-point game to 106-93 win in Sydney
• Game four: Torrey Craig misses free throw with five seconds left, allowing 36ers to tie series with 92-91 win in Adelaide

Hello and welcome to ABC Sport’s live blog of the deciding fifth game of the 2026 NBL Finals series.

I’m Jon Healy and I’ll be taking you through all the action from the Sydney SuperDome at Olympic Park, as the 36ers try to upside the Kings on their home court.

It’s been a tense and often heated series thus far, so let’s get straight into it.