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New Zealand made basketball history on Wednesday night with its first win against Australia on home soil to claim the Ramsay Shield for only the second time.
The Tall Blacks won the game 79-71 to tie the four-game series 2-2, thanks largely to a dominant 25-point, eight-rebound haul by Kiwi big man Craig Bradshaw.
It was a result that left everyone scratching their heads and gave New Zealand a handy fillip as both teams continue preparations for next month's world titles in Japan.
But both sides, and everyone else in Melbourne's Vodafone Arena, believed Australia had already retained the Shield as holders after winning game three in Hobart for a 2-1 series lead.
"(New Zealand coach) Tab (Baldwin) actually ripped us last night and said we'd lost the chance of winning the Shield," guard Paul Henare told AAP.
"We were pretty disappointed and just found out this afternoon we still had a chance."
It was a chance they took with open arms, producing a 10-0 run to end the game after Australia had taken a 71-69 lead late in the contest.
The Boomers won games one and three by a combined three points, but New Zealand's record 19-point victory in game two proved the difference in a series decided on points differential.
Already missing Sam Mackinnon for the final two games after he left for Brisbane on Monday to be with wife Rebecca, who gave birth to the couple's second child, Australia lost another member of its starting five tonight when Chris Anstey pulled out.
Anstey injured a medial ligament in his right knee in game three and withdrew on Wednesday night as a precaution.
In his first game for the Boomers in his home city, Andrew Bogut responded with an 18-point, nine-rebound effort for the home side, but the young Australian team lacked composure down the stretch as the battle-hardened Tall Blacks claimed the win.
Boomers coach Brian Goorjian was also unaware the series was still on the line, but was looking ahead to more important matters.
Australia commences its world championship campaign against Brazil on August 19.
"I had no idea (about the series)," he said. "It's embarrassing them getting the trophy on our home court, but the series was irrelevant to me.
"This is about how we go in Japan and these four games were very good for us."
Boomers skipper Jason Smith, who lambasted his side for giving up in game two, didn't hide his frustration again tonight.
"It's pretty hard to talk about it at the moment," he said.
"I just thought there was a lack of desire to win. We had our chances, but when times got tough we didn't run our stuff or execute well and they did."
