‘Absolute legend’ of basketball fan rushes to help NBL star suffering from severe muscle cramp during game

A fan has rushed to help Adelaide 36ers star Dejan Vasiljevic, who suffered a serious muscle cramp during Melbourne United's hard-fought 107-96 win at John Cain Arena.

In a true team effort, seven United players reached double figures for points, with the side's willingness to shoot from deep proving the difference.

United recruit Luke Travers continued to impress with a double-double (14 points, 11 rebounds), while MVP candidate Chris Goulding (15 points, four rebounds) hit five three-pointers with 41 percent accuracy.

United could end the weekend with as many as four wins clear at the top of the ladder. By comparison, as of Saturday night, only three wins separate second and seventh place.

When Tanner Krebs hit three triples in just over a minute in the second quarter, everything went according to script for the championship favorites, who took a 13-point lead into halftime.

But Adelaide fought back, with Dejan Vasiljevic (23 points, six assists) and Jacob Wiley (14 points, nine rebounds) combining for a 13-0 run that stretched over three quarters.

Their efforts cut United's lead, which had increased to as much as 18 points, to just four in the final term.

Vasiljevic had 10 of Adelaide's first 15 fourth-quarter points, so when he went down with a serious calf cramp in the final three minutes the Sixers would have been nervous.

The guard's pain was so severe that a member of the crowd rushed from his courtside seat to help him before a Sixers staffer could enter the court.

Fans were quick to praise the quick-thinking fan.

'That's gold. Absolute legend,” one posted on Facebook.

“Good man, give him that chair for life,” said another.

That's a fan!' replied a third.

Melbourne were too good for Adelaide and won the match 107-96

Melbourne could end the weekend clear at the top of the ladder with as many as four wins

However, others questioned whether the fan should have been allowed to touch a player, emphasizing that this would never be allowed in the NBA.

Adelaide were only four points behind when Vasiljevic pulled up painfully, but by the time he returned to play a minute later, United had seized all the momentum and extended the lead to nine.

From then on, they never relinquished their lead, with guard Shea Ili finishing as the team's top scorer (16 points, two assists).

Interim coach Scott Ninnis praised Adelaide's effort in his second game since replacing the ousted CJ Bruton.

“Nobody gave us a chance to come in and compete with that team,” he said.

'I expected to come here and win, no matter how unrealistic people think that is.

“That belief and expectation to win is hopefully something we're going to convey to the playing group now, and hopefully those results will start to turn around.”

United hit 16 three-pointers from 32 attempts that night – a statistic that proved decisive.

The Sixers made nine of 14 shots from deep, but attempted only four in the entire first half.

Melbourne has now reached 100 points in five consecutive matches – the first time an NBL team has done so since the 2008/09 season.