Illawarra Hawks import Tyler Harvey has sealed an 84-83 upset defeat of the Cairns Taipans with a clutch three-pointer in the final seconds at WIN Entertainment Centre.
Staring down the possibility of a 1-5 start to the NBL season, last year's wooden spooners looked intent on staging an ambush on Thursday night as captain Sam Froling fired early.
But the Taipans chased down a 13-point lead and edged in front in the final quarter, with Patrick Miller (24 points, seven assists) leading the charge.
Miller's jump shot in the final 10 seconds gave the Taipans a two-point lead that looked as though it could have been match-winning.
But the Hawks belted down the court and the ball found itself in Harvey's hands for their final roll of the dice.
His deep three swished through the net with one second remaining, sending the home crowd into raptures and improving the Hawks to 2-4.
"I turned around to my assistants and I said, 'That's why we have him (Harvey)'," said Hawks coach Jacob Jackomas.
"It's good that people can be reminded how special he is at the end of the clock.
"In that space, he always gives us a chance."
The Taipans are now 2-2 to start the season, having also dropped their two games against NBA sides as part of that league's pre-season.
"It's a tall order to expect us to win if we keep giving up second-chance points," said Taipans coach Adam Forde.
"I don't want to discredit Illawarra (but) during the game, I felt like we were better-equipped to close it out, but we didn't and Illawarra did. It's the one that got away."
Nine first-quarter points from Froling helped the Hawks to a nine-point lead at the first change.
Froling (16 points, 13 rebounds) had his double-double with seven minutes remaining in the third quarter.
But Cairns did a better job at targeting him later on, keeping the rangy centre scoreless in the second half.
"He had a great game," Jackomas said.
Import Justin Robinson, who had struggled from the field to begin the season, hit a three that forced a timeout and restored a game-high 13-point lead in the third quarter.
But lapses in concentration threatened to cost the Hawks.
They invited Cairns back into the game by shooting only one of their last nine attempts from the field in the third quarter, having gone almost four minutes without scoring from the field in the second.
After the break, a free-throw from Sam Waardenburg tied things up, one of nine occasions in the final quarter alone that scores were level.
It took Harvey's moment of magic to split the sides late.
"I'm really happy for the guys," Jackomas said.
"It is a bit of a relief, but we need to move on into being a basketball team now, not the team that's relieved to win.
"I'm really confident in these guys."
