The simmering beef between the NBL's two best players - Bryce Cotton and Kendric Davis - has spilled into a shoving match in the dying stages of Adelaide's 84-78 win over Sydney.
Adelaide's Cotton and Kings' star Davis were issued with unsportsmanlike fouls with 26.3 seconds left at Sydney's Afterpay Arena on Sunday as they exchanged pushes.
Former 36er Davis stoked the fire during the week saying there is "no love between me and Bryce", and "no love with me and Adelaide".
Cotton replied: "That's his cross to carry, not mine."
Following the fracas, Davis pointed to the gold NBL emblem on his singlet signifying Sydney's championship win from last season, while Cotton held up six fingers to show how many NBL MVPs he has won.
The pair clashed heatedly twice during last season's grand final series, which the Kings won 3-2.
On Sunday, Cotton edged the individual duel with 17 points and eight assists to Davis's 16 and seven as the Sixers inflicted the Kings' first loss of the season,
"The effort and intensity were without question today," 36ers coach Trevor Gleeson said.
"I loved that energy, and love that guys are stepping up."
John Jenkins scored 20 points for Adelaide, while Xavier Cooks had 22 for Sydney.
Matt Kenyon squared it at 18-all with a putback on the quarter-time bell, before the 36ers moved ahead 31-22 on a Cotton three, while the Kings were looking out of sorts and Davis was yet to get off the mark.
The reigning champions needed a lift and they got it through reserves Makuach Maluach and Tyler Robertson, who piloted a 9-0 finish to the half to put the home side in front 44-41.
Sydney's offence dried up completely when they were held to 12 points in the third quarter, their lowest-scoring term of the season.
At the other end, three late triples to Jenkins, Kenyon and Jacob Rigoni put the Sixers up 61-58 at three-quarter time.
When Jenkins drained his fifth and sixth three-pointers early in the fourth, the margin was out to 67-58.
Further treys from Rigoni, Kenyon and Cotton effectively sealed the game, but the fireworks were far from over.
"We did have a rough night at the office," Sydney coach Brian Goorjian said.
"No flow offensively and I thought that triggered frustration and anxiety.
"We went down into a bad hole."
