A Rohan Janse van Rensburg try three minutes from time helped the Lions to a narrow 28-25 victory over Cheetahs in Super Rugby.
An uneventful first-half saw the sides level 6-6 at the break, although a yellow card for Lions' Francois de Klerk saw him in the sin-bin for the opening seven minutes of the second half.
In that time the Cheetahs looked to have taken control with a try from Raymond Rhule and a Fred Zeilinga conversion and penalty giving them a 16-6 lead five minutes after the restart.
Lions hit back through a Rohan Janse van Rensburg try, converted by Elton Jantjies, but a Zeilinga penalty kept the Cheetahs ahead, 19-13 going into the final quarter.
Jantjies and Zeilinga traded penalties to keep the margin at six with 15 minutes to go, but a penalty try for Lions put them a point in front, 23-22 with 12 minutes remaining.
Despite a yellow card for the Cheetahs' Francois Uys in the buildup to the penalty try, a Zeilinga penalty gave them back the lead with five minutes remaining.
But up stepped van Rensburg once more to give the Lions a narrow victory.