Perth Wildcats captain Jesse Wagstaff missed the simplest of lay-ups to hand South East Melbourne a pulsating 90-89 NBL win at RAC Arena.
A Keifer Sykes jump-shot with 4.8 seconds remaining gave the Phoenix a one-point lead in Friday night's blockbuster.
The Wildcats had one final chance to win the game, and victory looked theirs after the ball found itself in Wagstaff's hands in front of the rim and with no-one around him.
But Wagstaff put too much force into the regulation lay-up, with the ball bouncing off the glass at a sharp angle and missing the ring altogether.
The six-time NBL champion hung his head in despair after the miss, with the home crowd left stunned that the Wildcats had missed out on what seemed an assured victory.
Wildcats guard Bryce Cotton starred with 32 points, six assists, and four rebounds while makeshift centre John Mooney (19 points, 13 rebounds) notched his second straight double-double.
Mitch Creek produced a hot shooting display for the Phoenix to tally 24 points and seven rebounds, while Sykes was influential with 19 points and eight assists.
The fuse was lit for a heated affair after Phoenix co-captain Adam Gibson's pre-match comments about his team needing to put Cotton on his backside with a few hard fouls.
Gibson ended up being a late scratching after failing a fitness test on a calf injury, but his comments put the referees on notice for any untoward physicality.
Sykes scored nine points in the opening term, with his efforts inspiring an 11-0 run that gave the Phoenix a 27-17 lead early in the second quarter.
Cotton helped lead the fightback, with some sharp shooting and deft assists helping claw back the deficit to just one point by half-time.
The standout stat at that point was the rebound count, with the Wildcats winning that battle 28-16, with 11 of those offensive rebounds.
Creek exploded with a seven-point burst to start the third as the lead ballooned to 10.
But the margin was quickly back to one point courtesy of a 9-0 run from the Wildcats.
Creek produced another long bomb to make it 13 points for the term and give his side a 71-67 edge at three-quarter time.
The lead changed hands numerous times in a pulsating final quarter, and the Phoenix were dealt a double blow when Creek injured his ankle and Sykes picked up his fourth foul.
Both players spent several minutes off the court, with the Wildcats snatching the lead during that time.
A Cotton three-pointer gave the Wildcats a four-point edge with just 51 seconds to go, but a Kyle Adnam long bomb and Sykes' jump shot saw the Phoenix retake the lead.
Wagstaff's late miss on the easiest of lay-ups, though, seems sure to haunt him for years to come.
