The Adelaide 36ers kept their finals hopes alive with a stirring 133-97 fightback win over the high-flying Brisbane Bullets at the Distinctive Homes Dome in Adelaide on Saturday night.

The 36ers trailed by 13 points during the second term before Adam Ballinger and an injured David Cooper sparked a remarkable turnaround to snatch an unlikely win over the third-placed Bullets.

Ballinger produced a virtuoso performance to finish with 36 points with Julius Hodge (24) and Darren Ng (20) also brilliant on the night.

For the Bullets, Ebi Ere notched a 23 point haul with Michael Hill also impressing with 19 and Adam Gibson supporting with 16 points.

In the opening minutes the 36ers played like a side with their season on the line to match the intensity of the Bullets.

Darren Ng quickly sank seven points to lead the home charge, but late in the term Ere and Gibson emerged, and aided by the power of Craig Bradshaw the Bullets led 30-24 at the first break.

At the resumption Bradshaw and Ng traded three-pointers before the 36ers' Cooper headed for the change-rooms with an injury to his head after falling heavily in a clash with CJ Bruton.

The Bullets then powered away as Bruton, Gibson and Hill ran amok to give the visitors a 13-point lead.

Cooper returned with a thick bandage wrapped around his head, then promptly notched up two points to halt the Bullets' momentum.

Along with veteran Lanard Copeland and star import Ballinger, Cooper sparked a remarkable turnaround to see the 36ers take control to lead 61-59 at halftime.

During the third quarter the tension rose with the contest tightening defensively.

But Ballinger and Ng continued to menace the Bullets' defence and by three quarter-time the 36ers had extended their lead to 86-77.

The Bullets commenced the final stanza with a Hill three-pointer, but when Ballinger brought up the 36ers' century with another majestic basket the homeside's lead was 14 points.

The 36ers then surged away to produce a stunning upset win.

"We were confidant coming in that we'd play well," 36ers coach Phil Smyth said.

"I didn't think we'd play that well."

Smyth praised the efforts of the injured Cooper in sparking the fightback.

"I think Coops' effort to get the ball before he split the eye was probably more impressive than coming back with a bandage on," he said.

"I think when a guy commits like that then he goes off and comes back does encourage the guys."

Smyth said the 36ers were still determined to make the playoffs.

"We're determining our own fate," he said.

Bullets coach Joey Wright said he was disappointed with his team's continued poor form on the road.

"We haven't shown a lot of heart on the road," he said.

"We haven't been able to really step it up like we needed to."

Wright said bad decision making and a lack of defensive action had contributed to the 36ers' surge late in the second term.

"I thought that as a team we probably felt like we tried to out-score them," he said.

"You don't want to get in a shoot-out with a team that hot and they're at home and you're on the road."

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