Club owner Grant Kelley stated in November the Lightning desperately needed a $500,000 cash injection and more bums on seats at Adelaide Arena or the club would risk going under.

What came next was a turnaround fitting of a Hollywood movie script - 13 wins from 16 games, and a buzzer-beating victory, however controversial, to send the grand final series to a deciding game three.

A championship didn't follow, with Adelaide falling by 20 points at the hands of the Canberra Capitals in the decider.

And right now, the uncertain future is the last thing on his mind.

"I need a break, I’m exhausted. I haven’t even thought about it," Lucas said.

"Effectively my contract finished today. I’ll catch up with the girls before they depart but my job is done. I put a three-year plan in place. Our goal was to make finals in three years, so I’m pretty pleased with that.

"I haven’t even thought about it, it’s not something I want to think about in the next week or so, that’s for sure."

The fans responded to the threat of the club going bust by turning up in near-record numbers for the second game of the championship-deciding playoff series with 3702 on hand to witness the thrilling finish.

It was a far cry from the average home crowd of 250 the Lightning have lured in over the past two seasons.

Canberra star Kelsey Griffin was named the grand final series' most valuable player and she says she isn't looking forward to returning to Adelaide after the hostile atmosphere the Lightning fans created.

"Hopefully their run deep into the finals will ensure a long successful future for Adelaide basketball," Griffin said.

Capitals coach Paul Goriss added "they’ve had a rough season off the court, for them to come together and make it through to this grand final series, huge respect".

The game two triumph on their home hardwood came in front of South Australian sports minister Corey Wingard, while state premier Steven Marshall tweeted "all of South Australia is behind the team".

They're going to need to be if the club is going to survive.

A private consortium has expressed interest in taking the club's licence with an eye on building a model similar to the one which transformed the Melbourne Boomers from battlers to powerhouses.

An expression of interest is a start, but only that. For now, the Lightning can take solace in the fact they can match it with the best in the league on the court.

The club has a pulse.