The injury-hit Illawarra Hawks have pulled off a remarkable 80-71 road win over Melbourne United to send the best-of-five NBL championship series to a decider.
Trailing 2-1, the Hawks lost import Trey Kell (knee) before tip-off at John Cain Arena on Wednesday night and had star big man Sam Froling limp off (achilles) early in the second quarter.
But Will Hickey (22 points, eight assists) stepped up as the star of the show as the visitors ground out the toughest of victories in a low-scoring slugfest.
Back-up centre Lachie Olbrich added 13 points off the bench in a vital contribution after Froling went down, while Darius Days (nine points, 11 rebounds) and Tyler Harvey (12) landed some telling blows.
"All year it's been about our bench and our depth," Hawks coach Justin Tatum said.
"It's unfortunate situations with Trey and Sam right now, but it's about the next guy up.
"So the way the guys fought today was pretty good."
Tatum praised the energy and determination of emerging star Hickey, who answered the call when promoted to the starting line-up.
"Davo (Hickey) played incredibly well," Tatum said.
"He's an energy guy when he gets going on both ends he can produce.
"We needed somebody to score today and I'm glad he was part of it."
In an emotional rollercoaster of a series, which is now locked at 2-2, travelling teams have won all four games.
Illawarra will have home-court advantage for game five, to be played at the WIN Entertainment Centre on Sunday.
All-NBL First Team guard Kell is a chance to return for the decider but front-court powerhouse Froling's series is almost certainly over.
Melbourne were also dealt a setback before game four when Shea Ili was ruled out, the two-time defensive player of the year still struggling with the effects of a head knock during game two.
Matthew Dellavedova (17 points, seven rebounds, six assists) did his best to carry United and Chris Goulding (17 points) lifted in the second half, after shooting 0-of-7 from the field in the first.
Illawarra grabbed 18 offensive rebounds to 10, and won the overall count 54-43.
Melbourne coach Dean Vickerman conceded his side didn't cope with the Hawks' physical defensive approach.
"We expected it but we just didn't find a way to get that rhythm of our offence tonight," Vickerman said.
"They rebounded better and they had a bit more juice in the last five minutes.
"We felt like we were in different positions tonight than pretty much the whole year."
Froling was a dominant figure in Illawarra's hot 15-5 start but Dellavedova sparked United into action, inspiring a 12-0 run as the home side edged ahead early in the second period.
In a huge blow, the Hawks lost star man Froling just over one minute into the second term.
Tension boiled over when Hawks import Days charged through Goulding off the ball, sending the United captain tumbling to the floor.
United managed to slow the game down and led 32-28 at the main break, holding the Hawks to their lowest first-half score of the season in the process.
But the visitors wouldn't give up the fight, throwing another serious punch with a 13-4 start to the second half.
Hickey scored nine points in the third quarter, off-setting eight from Goulding, who hit two huge threes, and the Hawks led 51-48 with one period left.
Days came up big in the final quarter as Illawarra resisted Melbourne's efforts, sending many in the 10,175-strong crowd heading for the exit early.
"There's a level of disappointment," Vickerman said.
"We had a chance with a packed house to go and win a championship, and we weren't good enough on the night."
