Coach Nathan Buckley hailed Collingwood's maturity after the Magpies saw off a determined Brisbane to record back-to-back wins for the first time this season.
As they have done too often during a faltering campaign, the Pies went missing for periods of Sunday's clash at the MCG, but they steadied to claim the 18.21 (129) to 13.6 (84) victory.
Collingwood led by 35 points early in the third quarter, but the maddening inconsistency that has dogged them all season reared its ugly head once again.
Brisbane mounted a stirring challenge to slash the margin to 10 points before the Magpies finally woke from their stupor to lead by 16 at three-quarter time.
Collingwood's inaccuracy in front of goal continued in the final term, but some costly errors took the air out of the Lions' challenge, the Pies taking advantage to get up by 45 points - their largest winning margin of the season.
"I thought there was maturity in the performance," Buckley said.
"There was a patch in the first quarter and there was a patch in the third quarter where our intensity dropped off.
"But we were able to right the ship pretty well and at no stage did it look like there was any panic out on the field.
"That's a sign of maturity when you know what you need to do to right the ship."
Steele Sidebottom was outstanding with 34 possessions and a goal, with Adam Treloar, Taylor Adams and Scott Pendlebury also important.
Jamie Elliott led the way in attack with four goals, but cost himself a more-impressive haul with some poor conversion.
Brisbane skipper Dayne Beams had a good day against his old side with 28 touches and three goals, with Dayne Zorko also influential.
"It sounds like the story of our season - positive bits and lapses," Lions coach Chris Fagan said.
"I thought we started well with a lot of energy early ... I thought our ball use at times was really exciting.
"We dropped away a bit when it started to rain in the second quarter, then it was really exciting in the third quarter to see our guys fight back.
"They put themselves in with a chance to win the game but Collingwood's experience and poise and our mistakes in the last quarter contributed to a fade away."
The Magpies will attempt to make it three wins in a row when they travel to Perth to take on Fremantle on Sunday.
The Lions remain anchored to the bottom of the ladder as they head into their bye round with nine losses in a row.
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