Milton Keynes Lions 93 (20,53,70) (Alleyne 20, Burns 18, Cole 14)
DG Essex Leopards Kool Kats 78 (18,38,59) (Williams 22, Brown 21, McIntosh 13)

Milton Keynes Lions did their play-off ambitions no harm at on Wednesday night with a 93-78 win over chief rivals Essex.

The Lions nailed the opening eight points of the second quarter to open up a double figure lead at the interval 53-38. 

Leopards made inroads into their hosts' advantage with a 10-1 start to the third stanza but an immediate 8-0 burst put Lions back in control at 62-48. 

Inside the final quarter, Mike Taylor's men closed the gap to just four when stubborn defence restricted the Lions to just 6 points in the opening 7 minutes of the quarter but Lions Freddie Cole scored seven in a row to make the game safe.