Illawarra have snapped a three-game NBL losing streak, almost frittering away a 16-point lead to escape with a nail-biting 91-89 win over Melbourne United.
The hosts still trailed by 13 at three-quarter time at John Cain Arena on Sunday, before superstar import Cole Anthony almost carried them over the line.
When Hawk Milton Doyle hit one of two free throws with 4.5 seconds left, Melbourne called a time-out and designed a play for Anthony.
He collected the inbound pass, slipped, recovered, then lost the ball as he tried to launch a long three, the ball falling into teammate Luke Travers' hands.
Travers' off-balance three-point attempt on the buzzer hit the rim and bounced off, sending United crashing from fifth to eighth on the ladder.
Anthony scored 20 of his game-high 24 points in the second half, while Makur Maker had 23 off the bench for Illawarra.
A frustrated Anthony had just four first-half points in less than seven minutes of court time, forced to take an extended spell on the bench after receiving his third foul, a technical for dissent.
The Hawks capitalised, going on separate 11-0 and 16-1 sprees to storm clear 52-36.
Maker's athletic slam off Doyle's bounce pass and bench-hustler Dan Grida's desperate defence were highlights.
United completely unravelled, racking up more turnovers (nine) than field goals (six) for the term, which Illawarra dominated 35-16 to turn a 27-21 quarter-time deficit into a commanding 56-43 halftime lead.
A third-quarter cameo from Anthony trimmed the Hawks' cushion to 62-56, before the visitors reasserted themselves.
Illawarra finished the term with back-to-back alley-oop Maker dunks from a pair of pinpoint lobs from Doyle to move ahead 78-65.
From there, Anthony took control.
The former NBA stud produced a succession of sweet jumpers and heads-up offensive plays as Melbourne came within millimetres of pulling off a last-second miracle.