Melbourne has clinched its third National Basketball League title and first in nine years by beating defending champion Sydney Kings 88-83 at the Sydney Entertainment Centre.

The Tigers trailed for most of the first three quarters, but fought back from 11 and six point deficits at the first and second quarters respectively, to hit the front in the last minute of the third period with a three-pointer from guard Daryl Corletto.

Sydney, which won the last three titles, never regained the lead in the final quarter missing several shots, while veterans Rashad Tucker (10 points) and Darryl McDonald (13) made some big baskets for Melbourne.

The Tigers spread their scoring with four other players in double figures, led by captain Chris Anstey (16), Dave Thomas (13), Stephen Hoare (12) and Neil Mottram (10).

Anstey was later named Player of the Finals series which the Tigers took 3-0.

Skipper Jason Smith led the way for Sydney, but didn't add to his 20 first half points.

His back court partner CJ Bruton was next best with 12, but endured another miserable shooting night, making just five out of 18 shots.

"There's no doubt the worthy champion this year was the Melbourne Tigers," Sydney coach Brian Goorjian said.

Melbourne shot 43 per cent from the field to Sydney's 35, with the Kings firing up 41 three-point attempts out of 83 overall attempts.

Melbourne scored the first four points of the game and the signs looked ominous for Sydney as they missed with their first four shots, all three-pointers.

Smith suddenly developed a hot hand, nailing four successive long bombs to carry Sydney to the front.

Smith played with a maniacal intensity at both ends, defending tenaciously, and was involved in the two major flare ups of the first half.

He got into a shoving match with Tigers guard Daryl Corletto early in the second quarter and engaged in a mainly verbal spat with Rashad Tucker as the teams left the court at halftime.

Centre Ian Crosswhite chipped in with eight quick points after coming off the bench as Sydney bolted to a 28-17 quarter time lead.

An 8-0 run brought Melbourne level at 32-32, but two more Smith three-pointers nudged Sydney to a 47-41 halftime advantage.

Almost half of the Kings first half field goal attempts were three-pointers, with Sydney landing eight long bombs to the Tigers two before the long break.

Forward Hoare led Melbourne's first half scorers with 10, while Anstey had nine and fellow big man Mottram seven.

Melbourne might have been closer at halftime, but had made only nine of its 16 free throw attempts, while Sydney missed just one of six up to the long break.

"This is unbelievably special and we'll remember this for a long time," Anstey said.

Melbourne coach Al Westover became only the fifth man to win a title in his first season, though he said his Sydney counterpart Goorjian was still the best coach in the league.

"They (the Kings) are the benchmark for the league, that's something we respect and admire and hope we can duplicate," Westover said.

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