Sean Bruce has snatched victory from the jaws of defeat for reigning NBL champions Sydney Kings with a buzzer-beating nook three-pointer to seal a memorable derby win over Illawarra.
Bruce discovered his solution to the identical spot teammate Kouat Noi dealt Cairns a buzzer-beating loss earlier this season, and rattled house his three-point try because the hooter sounded for an 83-82 win.
With simply 2.2 seconds left after Bruce was blocked on the earlier play in an try and tie it up at 82-82, Angus Glover fired a rocket cross to his guard and Bruce confirmed nerves of metal to bury the Hawks.
Bruce gestured to the group in a sleeping movement after the make, signalling their NSW rivals had been put to mattress along with his last-ditch shot.
Hawks ahead Tim Coenraad had an opportunity on the different finish to place the sport to mattress from the charity stripe however he missed each his free throws, gifting Sydney one final crack on the win.
Coenraad made two free throws simply seconds earlier as Illawarra held a slim two-point margin earlier than Bruce’s heroics moved the Kings again atop the NBL standings.
The reigning champions struggled at house in opposition to the last-placed Hawks all through Sunday’s contest, hitting simply eight of their 33 three-point makes an attempt.
Illawarra went on a 14-6 run to halftime to path by simply three factors and stayed inside arms size as the competition entered the ultimate 10 minutes.
Harvey’s powerful left-hand push shot floating to his left within the closing minute signalled an upset was on the playing cards, as Illawarra went up 80-78.
However Bruce’s speedy transition bucket earlier than Coenraad’s consecutive journeys to the road gave the hosts a sniff, and the 31-year-old clinched their second buzzer-beating win of the season.
Six gamers completed in double figures for Sydney and Glover top-scored with 13 factors because the Kings’ bench poured in 32 priceless factors.
Tyler Harvey ignited for the Hawks, main all gamers with 32 factors on 56 per cent taking pictures, and 14 of these factors coming within the closing time period.
However his heroics weren’t sufficient as his aspect slipped to a heart-breaking loss.