Adelaide have burst Brisbane's bubble as Hugh Greenwood stepped up for the Crows in an entertaining AFL clash at the Gabba.
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A former professional basketballer, Greenwood kicked a career-high four goals and hit the post twice in the 13.15 (93) to 13.10 (88) win.
The victory stopped the upbeat Lions' three-game streak and kept the Crows in the race for the eight.
Matt Crouch (40 disposals) and Rory Laird (29) were in everything for the Crows on Saturday night while Josh Jenkins (two goals) was a constant forward-line threat.
The buzz was back in Brisbane after a trio of triumphs and the Lions delivered early when Josh Walker and Rayner took back-to-back mark-of-the-year contenders.
Rayner capped the sequence with a goal to delight the 20,475 fans.
But that bit of razzle dazzle ironically also marked the beginning of the Crows' resurgence.
The hosts flagged in a fast-paced game and Greenwood pounced to improve the Crows to 9-8 this season.
The small forward kicked three goals in as many minutes either side of quarter time to wrestle control of the contest.
Brisbane rallied behind the efficient Alex Witherden (31 touches, 12 marks) and Nick Robertson's hard running at the back, with Daniel McStay snapping a run of four Crows goals to end the half.
But Greenwood popped up again in the third quarter to keep the Lions at bay before Eddie Betts soared for a special mark of his own.
His goal followed a string of costly Brisbane misses as the Crows built a 22-point buffer at the final break.
Brisbane stayed in it with goals to Jake Barrett and Jarrod Berry and when Oscar McInerney kicked his second the gap was just 10 with three minutes to play.
Daniel Rich then narrowly missed from 60m before the Crows whittled down the clock only for Lewis Taylor to goal after the siren.
"That was a high-powered game, that was finals-like and we competed strongly in it," Brisbane coach Chris Fagan said.
"We're starting to be able to compete with some of the big dogs.
"Had we showed a bit more composure at times we might have just got there."
Adelaide will sweat on the health of Tom Doedee (concussion) and Lachlan Murphy (concussion, nose).
Both left the ground following heavy knocks and didn't return, leaving Adelaide down on troops for a bulk of the second half.
"They were blowing," Adelaide coach Don Pyke said.
"It was a good game of footy from the start, both teams showed intent to move the ball with some speed.
"It was a really pleasing win; we came up here needing a win to keep the season going and the guys got it done."
Australian Associated Press
