Adelaide 36ers coach Mike Wells has rejected an accusation he has shown a lack of respect to Matthew Dellavedova during the NBL championship series.
The 36ers levelled the series 2-2 with a pulsating 92-91 victory over the Sydney Kings in Game 4 at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre last night.
Sixers force NBL title decider
Wells had been critical of the referee’s non-calling of the physical Dellavedova after the Kings’ victory in Game 3 on Sunday.
That earned a strong rebuke from Kings coach Brian Goorjian, who on Tuesday labelled Wells’s comments “weak” and showing “disrespect” to an “Australian icon”.
“I want to just be really clear … my comments about the so-called way I viewed the game was not disrespectful to Matthew Dellavedova in any way,” Wells said after Game 4.
“I have a ton of respect for him, what he’s done and what he means for everybody.
“I was just fighting for my team and my guys. It’s not disrespectful in any way.”
Mike Wells has defended comments he made about Matthew Dellavedova. (AAP: Matt Turner)
Following the Kings’ nail-biting defeat in Adelaide, Goorjian doubled down on his views on Wells’s comments.
“There was a lot of talk coming into this,” the six-time NBL championship-winning coach said.
“I felt that was inappropriate. I felt we had the quality refs on the game tonight.
“I don’t think they took anything in from what was said. They refereed a good game.”
Both the Sixers’ victories in this series have come at home and been decided in the dying seconds.
The Kings’ wins, also both at home, have been by 44 and 13 points.
The best-of-five series will conclude in Sydney on Easter Sunday.
AAP