Kings' coach Brian Goorjian insists there was "no intent" to deliberately target Bryce Cotton physically in their 44-point demolition of the Adelaide 36ers in the opening NBL championship series game in Sydney.
Cotton, who last month collected his sixth league MVP after leading the competition in scoring for the ninth time, was held to just 10 points on 4-of-12 shooting as Sydney stormed to a 112-68 win, the largest margin of victory in grand-final history, to take a 1-0 series lead.
Cotton averaged a whopping 36.3 points in the Sixers' 2-1 semi-final triumph over South East Melbourne Phoenix, but Sydney have had his measure all season, limiting him to a 15.0 scoring average against them on 36 per cent shooting.
Matthew Dellavedova, one of the world's premier taggers, started game one shadowing Cotton, before being spelled in the role at various times by Makuach Maluach and Torrey Craig.
Cotton was hit in the face at least three times in the first half, including in the opening 40 seconds by Dellavedova.
He had only one free-throw attempt for the match.
Goorjian refuted any suggestion of a pre-conceived ploy to rough Cotton up.
"The same thing has happened to Kendric (Davis), when you're guarding a good player like that - Dellavedova's hand just got caught up," Goorjian said.
"It's not part of the game plan. It was an accident.
"I don't think it was bad, and there was no intent in it.
"A big aspect of this is to guard him without fouling and keeping him off the foul line.
"Delly's got a strong body - he guarded (Kristian) Doolittle (in Sydney's 2-0 semi-final win over the Perth Wildcats).
"He was putting a body on him and using his physical strength early."
Adelaide coach Mike Wells wouldn't be drawn into the Kings' tactics on Cotton, nor whether the 36ers would reach out to the league to seek clarification.
"No, not at all," Wells said bluntly.
Davis has outscored Cotton in all five Sydney-Adelaide clashes this season and took the early lead for grand final MVP honours by posting 25 points and seven assists on Saturday night.
Davis was outspoken in his disappointment over finishing two votes shy of Cotton for league MVP honours, but Goorjian believes his dynamic American point guard has moved on from that.
"He's grown a lot," Goorjian said.
"He's not that worried about MVP, points - that's all done.
"The only thing that's left is to win the championship.
"He got other people involved and then he had the killer punch towards the end of the game.
"I thought he played a good all-round game."
