By Wayne Heming
Kevin Lisch shrugged off his early shooting blues to keep Sydney's NBL play-off hopes alive with a thrilling 80-77 win over Brisbane.
In a tense final minute, Lisch iced two free throws while Brisbane tall man Tom Jervis's last-second shot to send the game into overtime hit the rim.
Late Charge: Kevin Lisch (right) let go of early shooting woes to lead Kings to winCredit: Chris Hyde
Lisch, who has been struggling for confidence, came to Sydney's rescue as Brisbane threatened to pull off another upset after beating Melbourne United last week.
Brisbane's defence, which included Jeremy Kendle, got into Lisch early and he went into the halftime break with just three points beside his name.
Lisch couldn't buy a basket in the first half but finished the second with 6-11 to spearhead the win.
After leading by as many as 12 points in the first quarter, the Kings couldn't shake Brisbane, who surged to lead near the end of the third term.
The Kings only led 59-58 at the final change with Brisbane snatching the lead a few times in a see-sawing third term.
Things turned sour for Brisbane when they lost star American power forward Torrey Craig with five fouls after he was hit with a technical for mouthing off to the referees.
Craig was their leading scorer with 18 before he had to leave the game.
Despite their season being on the rocks and a number of injuries to key players, Brisbane continued to play hard coming off a huge upset win last weekend against Melbourne United.
But with their season on the line, Sydney dug deep with American forward Greg Whittington stepping up in the last quarter, including a power dunk to give the Kings a crucial 72-65 lead inside the four-minute mark.
Sydney, who hope to have star Australian Brad Newberry back from a hamstring injury for Sunday's crucial home clash with New Zealand, need to keep winning to sneak into the play-offs in fourth place.
AAP