Illawarra have pulled off a remarkable comeback to keep their NBL defence beating and knock Adelaide off top spot on the ladder.
Wani Swaka Lo Buluk's tip in, from the Hawks' third attempt on the possession with five seconds left on the clock, was the last to fall in Thursday's 100-99 win in Wollongong.
The visitors called a time-out but Bryce Cotton missed an open three-pointer, then Flynn Cameron's lay-up was too heavy and the Hawks escaped.
"My soul left me," Hawks coach Justin Tatum reflected of seeing five-time NBL MVP Cotton wide open.
"But that's what happens when your team believes ... he missed.
"And we still believe, we're still alive."
Teammates Tyler Harvey and QJ Peterson had earlier led the final-quarter comeback, trading buckets with 36ers star Cotton (28 points, nine assists) as they came from 16 points back to keep their faint finals hopes alive.
The Hawks had led by 10 before a 15-point 36ers run looked to have all-but ended their campaign.
Long-time US import Harvey, fresh off earning permanent Australian residency on Wednesday, wasn't done though.
He hit a season-best six triples in his 22 points while Peterson (13 points) hit two of his three long-range makes down the stretch.
"God has a good sense of humour and tonight it just worked out for me," Harvey, wearing a Boomers jersey with Harvey on the back, said in the post-game press conference.
Will Hickey (22 points, 10 assists, five rebounds, four steals) was everywhere, sparking a string of turnovers in the final quarter that dragged the Hawks closer despite Cotton's sharp-shooting.
It drops Adelaide (21-9) behind South East Melbourne (21-9) on percentage while last year's champions (11-18) are still two wins behind sixth-placed Tasmania but have two games in hand.
JaVale McGee was kept to just eight points but had 14 rebounds and crucially kept the play alive before the Hawks' match-winning bucket.
36ers centre Nick Rakocevic had 14 points and nine rebounds in his first game back from a one-match suspension.
"Kind of the perfect storm right?," 36ers coach Mike Wells said, lamenting unforced turnovers and defensive lapses.
Adelaide are 2-5 in their last seven games and the club was forced to defend Wells' job security during the week, slamming claims from Andrew Bogut key figures had met to discuss his sacking.
"You have to shoulder all of that and that's what leadership is," Wells said.
"That one (loss) stings a little bit. We led for a long time and you want to get the thing over the line
"You've got to make one more play and we had two really good looks.
"You've got to move on quickly, use it as fuel."
