The in-form Brisbane Bullets have beaten defending NBL champions Melbourne United twice in three days following a 90-74 victory on Monday night.
After coming back from a 17-point deficit to beat United in Brisbane on Saturday, the Bullets repeated the dose to stun the home fans at Melbourne Arena.
Looking to bounce back from a 97-94 loss two days earlier, Melbourne recovered from a slow start to lead by 13 points approaching half-time.
But Brisbane closed the second quarter on a 10-2 run then held United to eight points in the third quarter to set up the impressive away win.
Brisbane coach Andrej Lemanis was proud of the way his squad held their nerve against a talented United team desperate to atone from their last meeting.
"We got that win on Saturday and them coming home, they were going to have that sting in the tail, they were going to give you their best shot and we were able to absorb that tonight."
Cam Gliddon and Lamar Patterson each scored 17 points as the Bullets notched their third straight victory to improve their win-loss record to 7-6 for the season.
"They are playing really good basketball," Melbourne coach Dean Vickerman said after the Bullets outplayed them after half-time.
"They got good contributions out of nine guys tonight and I thought we had maybe three guys that really gave us a solid effort."
Melbourne's offence stalled in the second half to see them finish with 38 per cent shooting for the game, including 6-of-28 from long range.
Casper Ware led all scorers with 22 points and Alex Pledger finished with 13 points and seven rebounds in his 250th NBL appearance.
The visitors made a strong start with Reuben Te Rangi's triple building a nine-point lead midway through the first quarter.
But Pledger came off the bench to spark the home side as they reeled off 13 unanswered, Ware's buzzer-beating shot from well beyond the three-point line extending their lead 24-17.
Melbourne kept rolling in the second quarter as they moved ahead 45-32 but the Bullets closed the half down by five thanks to a late 10-2 run, Te Rangi matching Ware's first-quarter finish with a last-second three-pointer.
Melbourne's attack floundered in the third quarter as Brisbane worked their way back in front, Gliddon nailing back-to-back triples on the way to taking a 57-55 edge into the final quarter.
The Bullets opened the fourth on an 11-4 run to secure the victory, Patterson putting the match beyond United's reach with a three-pointer to send the lead into double digits.
Share
