A change of leadership couldn't bring about a change of luck for the West Sydney Razorbacks as the National Basketball League's cellar dwellers crashed to an 11th straight loss, 107-104 to the Melbourne Tigers.

Defending champion Melbourne consolidated its top two status by recording a fourth straight victory.

The Tigers led by up to a dozen points in each quarter and 14 in the third at the Sydney Olympic Park Sports Centre, but the success-starved Pigs never gave up and slashed the margin to three inside the final 30 seconds.

It was the first match in which West Sydney coach Cal Bruton implemented his new rotational captaincy policy, with centre Ya Ya Dia taking over from previous leader Scott McGregor.

It was a particularly unhappy night for another one of the new leadership group James Harvey, who left the game with a hip injury late in the first quarter.

Guard Daryl Corletto gave Melbourne plenty of sizzle off the bench, top scoring with 21 points, and he nailed a number of important baskets either side of the three-quarter time break.

Ya Ya Dia headed West Sydney's list with 20.

In an even Tigers scoring performance five other players hit double figures and another finished with nine as Melbourne shot just over 50 per cent from the field.

Bruton, who suffered his fifth straight loss since taking over, replaced his entire starting five around halfway thorough the first quarter.

Young forward Julian Khazzouh came off the bench to score eight points in the opening term which finished with Melbourne up by three.

The Tigers enjoyed a 54-45 half-time advantage after finishing the second quarter with a 12-4 run.

West Sydney, which made only five of its 21 second-quarter field goal attempts, rediscovered its offensive touch in the third quarter and got within two points near the end of that period before the Tigers scored the final six points to lead 79-71 at the last change.

Melbourne coach Alan Westover said he was disappointed with the way his side played and thought they were lucky to win.

"I think they outplayed us. They had 17 more shots and out-rebounded us (55-42), we were sloppy with the ball and had a lot (24) of turnovers," Westover said.

"We were fortunate we had a bit of a margin and we were able to stick in front.

"They are getting close to getting a win and I know they will be getting some wins over the rest of the season."

Bruton admitted his team had forgotten how to win and good humouredly took umbrage at the suggestion the Pigs (2-12) wouldn't win another game this season.

"There's no way, shape or form that we will go through this season without winning quite a few more games, I can assure you that, we're not coming up with a donut," Bruton said.

He said he couldn't fault his team's effort and felt enthusiasm was actually the reason for some errors.

"Just our desire to do that probably led to us making some turnovers and some bad shot selections at times, but I was pleased with the effort."

Bruton said Harvey would have an MRI on Monday on his groin and hip cartilage, but it was too early to say whether the high-scoring guard would miss any games.

Bruton put a huge wrap on young forward Khazzouh, who finished with an NBL career best 18 points, describing him as the Pigs' franchise player.

"I can see him getting more and more confident and he's capable of being a national (team) prospect in the not too distant future."

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