Rob Edwards' remarkable three-point bomb and Taran Armstrong's three free throws in the last two seconds have helped Cairns pull off the biggest upset of the NBL season, edging past Illawarra 108-105 in a thriller in Wollongong.
The top-ranked Hawks looked home when they led 105-102 late on Friday night, and with possession, when Illawarra's Will Hickey needlessly threw an outlet pass which landed in Edwards' lap.
Edwards dribbled up the court and drilled an off-balance, falling-back trey with two seconds left to tie the game.
The Hawks called a time-out and drew up their last play but were denied by Armstrong, who stole the inbound from Darius Days and was fouled by Lee Hyunjung while attempting a miracle from three-quarter-court.
That gave Armstrong three free throws with 0.2 seconds on the clock and he connected on them all, ending Cairns's 15-game losing streak in nail-biting fashion.
Edwards and Armstrong scored 28 points apiece to lead Cairns, while Tanner Groves battled illness to score 17 before fouling out.
"We stayed with it, we stayed committed," relieved Taipans coach Adam Forde said.
"I'm going to let the boys enjoy this one."
Imports Tyler Harvey (23 points) and Trey Kell (21) led the charge for the Hawks.
A predictable first-versus-last result looked on the cards when Illawarra led 24-19 at quarter-time and 56-45 at halftime, before the Snakes completely flipped the script with a stunning 40-21 third term.
The Taipans were buoyed by a horrific brain-fade from Hickey, who fouled Cairns import Pedro Bradshaw then kicked him, lightly but unnecessarily, while he was down.
Bradshaw hit two free throws for the initial infringement and another two for the unsportsmanlike act and the total 13-0 swing turned a 70-64 deficit into a 77-70 advantage.
The lead continued to change hands down the stretch and an Illawarra win looked likely as the game wore on before the Taipans' late flourish.
"Lack of communication and paying attention to detail," Hawks coach Justin Tatum said when asked about the match-turning third-quarter swing.
"I think we got content.
"You've got to question the guys if we're going to waste our season.
"Not being able to finish it like we started it, you've got to question our guys with their motives."
