Bryce Cotton has added another highlight to his already amazing legacy, producing a match-winning three-pointer with one second remaining to lift the Adelaide 36ers to a 112-110 NBL win over the NZ Breakers.
The 36ers looked to have Friday night's game in the bag after opening up a 90-80 lead with three minutes to go in the fourth quarter at Spark Arena.
Adelaide still held a seven-point advantage with 85 seconds remaining, before star Breakers guard Parker Jackson-Cartwright inspired a comeback to level the scores, with Cotton missing a late drive that would have won the game for the 36ers in regulation time.
NZ held a four-point lead with 24 seconds remaining in overtime, but a long-range bomb from Flynn Cameron reduced the margin to one point.
Then with 10 seconds to go, NZ had the ball stripped off them for a five-second inbound violation.
It meant Adelaide had one last chance to snare victory, and five-time NBL MVP Cotton nailed a clutch step-back three-pointer as the clock wound down to steal the win.
"It's the moments that you live for," Cotton said of his match-winning three-pointer.
"I was pretty upset with myself not making that lay-up in regulation.
"I silently thought to myself … if I have two chances to win the game, one of them has to go in."
The result snapped a two-match losing streak for ladder leaders Adelaide (20-6), while NZ (10-17) face an uphill battle to qualify for the play-in.
Cotton finished with 33 points on 5-of-10 shooting from long range, while former NBA guard John Jenkins also starred for the 36ers with 24 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the deep.
New Zealand were dealt a huge blow at the recent HoopsFest in Perth when import Rob Baker suffered a season-ending ACL tear to his right knee.
In Baker's absence, the scoring load was shared around between Karim Lopez (21 points), Sam Mennenga (20 points, 12 rebounds), Izaiah Brockington (24 points), Jackson-Cartwright (18 points) and Max Darling (12 points).
Jenkins scored 10 points in the second quarter as Adelaide's lead ballooned to nine, before NZ fought back to close it to 48-44 by halftime.
The Breakers unleashed a three-point barrage in the third quarter to snatch the lead, with Brockington in the thick of the action.
Mennenga sent a huge scare through the NZ camp midway through the final quarter when he jumped for a high ball and was accidentally nudged in the air, resulting in him crashing to the floor shoulder-first.
Zylan Cheatham was called for an unsportsmanlike foul, and Adelaide coach Mike Wells voiced his displeasure to the referee.
"I respect the shit out of you, I think you're a great official, but that's just accidental," Wells said.
Jackson-Cartwright nailed some big shots to send it into overtime, and NZ looked set to take it away before Adelaide pulled off some big plays late to steal victory.
"He's the MVP, he's the best player in this league," Wells said of Cotton.
"We're lucky to have him in Adelaide. I'm lucky to coach him.
"It's just a hell of a gritty win for the 36ers."
