Thunderstruck: The time Melbourne nearly caused NBA boilover

On October 8, 2017, Melbourne United faced a star-studded Oklahoma City Thunder side featuring Russell Westbrook, Paul George, Carmelo Anthony and Steven Adams in a pre-season clash.

The Thunder opened the game with an 8-0 run, but United quickly settled into the contest and led 30-27 at quarter-time.

They continued to push Oklahoma City throughout the night, even taking a 77-76 lead early in the fourth quarter.

NBL champion Casper Ware Jr. was outstanding, leading United with 20 points while also making life difficult for reigning NBA MVP, Russell Westbrook, who finished with just nine points on 3-of-10 shooting.

Paul George led the Thunder with 22 points, while Carmelo Anthony added 19.

With less than a minute remaining, United trailed 86-85 and had one final opportunity to steal the win.

Josh Boone's attempt was blocked by Josh Huestis, before Casey Prather's potential game-winning lay-up was also swatted away as the final buzzer sounded.

The Thunder escaped with an 86-85 victory, but Melbourne had made a statement.

"I was expecting for the Australians to be a little physical out there tonight," NBA legend Carmelo Anthony said after the game.

"We didn't know what sets they were going to run and we didn't have a scout on them so I think we did a great job of learning on the fly and seeing what they were going to give us and making adjustments to it."

Nine years on, it remains proof that NBL teams can compete with the best in the world and just how good that championship-winning Melbourne United squad was.

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