Runaway early season leaders Melbourne stretched their gap at the top of the NBL after surviving their stiffest challenge, from the New Zealand Breakers, in another thriller on Sunday.
Melbourne took their unbeaten start to nine games after recovering from a seven-point deficit with less than three minutes to go against the Breakers at Hisense Arena.
Impressive import Stephen Holt hit a last-second free throw to steal the dramatic 87-86 win and condemn the Breakers (4-4) to their first loss in four games.
The free-scoring match turned on a controversial moment when the referees called an unsportsmanlike foul on Breakers star Corey Webster after Chris Goulding went to the floor following a midcourt tussle after the Breakers inbounded the ball when leading 85-84.
It coincided with a foul by Melbourne centre Majok Majok on Breakers centre Alex Pledger who received the inbound pass.
Pledger could make only one of his two free throws while Goulding made both of his to tie the game up at 86-all with Melbourne retaining possession and then drawing the decisive foul on a drive to the basket.
Goulding and Holt both finished with 17 points for Melbourne while for the Breakers Tom Abercrombie had 24 points and Cedric Jackson had a triple double with 16 points, 14 boards and ten assists.
The round was also notable for an even more extraordinary come-from-behind home win by Adelaide against a battling Sydney side who lost two matches over the week.
The 36ers trailed by 25 in the second quarter and overturned an 18-point deficit at the last change, a record final-quarter comeback in the 40-minute era of the NBL over the past seven years.
Adelaide outscored Sydney 32-13 in the final period with recently-acquired replacement import guard Jerome Randle sparking the 36ers with 33 points.
"I'm proud of the guys, they stuck with it and played hard," Adelaide coach Joey Wright said.
"We started off too conservatively but we played harder in the second half and mixed up the defence and that was the difference."
Sydney scored a league season best 39 first quarter points but their porous defence let them down again.
Former NBA forward Al Harrington scored 18 points to go with the 20 he managed earlier in the round in a 105-94 home loss to Melbourne but the Kings needed more from him during the 36ers' late onslaught.
Harrington has been getting plenty of shooting opportunities through his first four games, but is averaging just over 30% from the field.
The early part of an action-packed round was dominated by two matches between Perth and Townsville.
Wildcats guard Damien Martin had his jaw broken in an incident with reigning league MVP Brian Conklin in the Crocs' 89-77 home win last Wednesday.
Conklin was found not guilty by the tribunal before a return match in Perth two nights later when the Townsville captain was booed relentlessly by the crowd, who at least enjoyed some measure of revenge with an 85-77 win.
"I've never been a liked player and I've always been a good player, so it's not the first time a team has hated me coming into their arena," said Conklin.
"There was no malice in that incident and I never want to put someone out. Life's bigger than basketball."
Former Kings star AJ Ogilvy scored 36 points in Illawarra's 96-88 home win over Cairns.
