Point guard CJ Bruton capped a fairy tale return to action by nailing the match-winning basket to steer National Basketball League leaders Sydney to a thrilling 109-108 victory over Townsville at the Sydney Entertainment Centre.

Olympian Bruton, who missed the last seven games since mid-November with a dislocated elbow, hit a short range jump shot with 6.6 seconds to go to put the Kings one point up.

The Crocs looked like notching their second away win over Sydney as guard Kelvin Robertson floated in towards the basket with just over one second remaining, only to have his short range shot swatted away by Kings import forward Mark Sanford.

In a see-sawing final quarter, Sydney led 100-90 halfway through, but Townsville produced a 16-4 run to hit the front.

Guard John Rillie scored eight straight points to push Townsville 106-104.

After Sydney guard Luke Martin made one out of two free throws to cut the deficit to one point, Bruton nailed two of his own from the charity stripe to put Sydney 107-106 up with 36 seconds to go.

Crocs veteran Robert Rose then nailed two free throws to regain the lead for the visitors, with 17 seconds to go before Bruton pulled off his match winning magic.

Bruton didn't start either half, but still had a profound influence on the game, scoring 18 points and notching eight assists and four steals in 31 minutes on court.

He was instrumental in pushing the Kings into a second quarter lead after a nip and tuck first quarter in which the lead changed a dozen times.

Townsville led 36-31 at quartertime with Brad Newley sparking the Crocs with eight points off the bench and Rillie contributing nine for the term.

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