A cold-blooded Liam Rush buried 10 points in the final term as Melbourne Tigers downed Gold Coast Blaze 79-72 at The Furnace.
The Tigers trailed by as many as 15 points in the first half and looked finished before Rush (20 points, six rebounds, two steals) and Daniel Dillon (13 points, seven rebounds) joined Cameron Tragardh (25 points, six rebounds) in defiance of the home side's dominance.
While Tragardh was a constant throughout, the defensive spark of Dillon and Rush either side of half-time turned the tide on a Blaze outfit.
The Blaze managed just six points in the third term, going into the final term with a 58-55 lead.
But key shooters Chris Goulding (nine points) and Mark Worthington (22 points, eight rebounds) went cold with the game on the line as Rush took control.
Fittingly, former Blaze playmaker Ayinde Ubaka put the final nail in the coffin with an amazing, buzzer-beating long two.
The Tigers hold on to third spot with a 9-6 record, while the Blaze drop to a 6-6 return.
Meanwhile, Sydney Kings managed an 86-83 victory over the Hawks in Wollongong.
The Kings saw a pair of hefty double-digit leads dissolve in the second half and were forced to stave off the desperate Hawks during a furious finish.
Anatoly Bose (23 points) and Ben Madgen (13 points) helped guide the Kings home from the free-throw line.
Tim Coenraad (18 points) and Joevan Catron (13 points) combined for 16 of the Hawks' 35 fourth-quarter points, as they attempted to overcome a mighty 17-point deficit.
Both teams scored with ease in the opening moments, but once the game tightened up the Kings gained the upper hand, claiming the final five points of the first quarter to lead 19-14.
The Kings parlayed the spurt into a quick-fire 11-2 run to start the second with Kevin Ratzsch and Aaron Bruce each connecting from long range and the visitors led 43-32 at the half.
Jerai Grant sparked a bruising 10-0 spurt for the Kings to start the third, his rare three-pointer seemed a sure sign the night belonged to Sydney.
It led by as many as 24 but left the door ajar, as the Hawks rallied to score the last 12 points, leaving the Kings with a 60-48 advantage with 10 minutes to play.
In other results, the Taipans upset competition leaders New Zealand Breakers 74-57 in Cairns and Perth defeated the Crocodiles 97-76 in Townsville.
AAP
Tags: sport, basketball, nbl, carrara-4211, melbourne-3000 First posted December 31, 2011 23:10:05
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