The Kyoto Hannaryz celebrated shooting guard Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf's 41st birthday on Tuesday. They had another reason to celebrate on Saturday.
The first-year expansion team earned the biggest win in franchise history, defeating the title-chasing Hamamatsu Higashimikawa Phoenix 74-69 at home.
Kyoto improved to 14-21, handing the Phoenix (29-8) only their fifth defeat in 19 away games.