Melbourne United had everything from injuries, jet lag, talent and one of the NBA's most intimidating crowds against them, but they rallied to almost pull off a stunning victory against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Thunder held on to defeat Melbourne 86-85 in a thriller at Oklahoma's Chesapeake Energy Arena on Sunday.
With five seconds left in the latest NBL-NBA exhibition clash United big man Josh Boone looked like he had the match-winner, but his shot close to the basket was blocked by Thunder reserve forward Josh Heustis.
United retained the ball and with one second to go Heustis was the unlikely saviour again for the All-Star laden Thunder when he blocked Melbourne forward Casey Prather's potential game-winning driving lay-up to leave the score at 86-85.