Tyler Harvey has broken the Sydney Kings' hearts with a late three-pointer that sealed the Illawarra Hawks' 96-89 win and spoilt Xavier Cooks' return to the Harbour City.
Renowned for his reliability at the death and from deep, American guard Harvey (21 points) stepped back for a deep three-pointer with the scores locked at 89 as the final minute approached on Sunday.
His shot flicked into the hoop and silenced the 11,438-strong Sydney crowd, helping the Hawks take a big step to a third consecutive win over their most bitter foes.
A pair of Harvey free throws sealed the win, and a 3-0 start to Justin Tatum's first full season as coach.
The Kings will rue two late turnovers, with Cam Oliver and then Jaylen Adams coughing the ball up as Sydney attempted to tighten the screws in the final three minutes.
A slow start also hurt the Kings, who hit only one of their first 13 attempts from deep in the face of a tight Hawks zone defence.
Harvey's fellow American Trey Kell III (20 points, six rebounds) was important earlier in the game, helping rebuff the Kings after they took their first lead of the day early in the third quarter.
Hawks wing Wani Swaka Lo Buluk held former NBL MVP Adams well with his trademark sticky coverage at the top of the paint.
Sunday afternoon's match was Cooks' first before the Kings' home crowd since leaving to pursue an NBA opportunity after the second of back-to-back NBL championships in the 2022/23 season.
Cooks (22 points, 12 rebounds) and Cam Oliver dominated the paint early in the third term, with the former sending a reminder of his potency with a skirmish from all around the key.
He found himself in hot water at the change for three-quarter time, tech fouled for remonstrating with a match official, but nevertheless finished with a second double-double from three games back at the Kings.