A strong finish from the Adelaide Crows in the final quarter saw the GIANTS go down by 21 points at Adelaide Oval.
In a final term that saw the lead change three times, the home side booted the last four goals of the game to triumph 12.10 (82) to 9.7 (61) on Saturday night.
The Crows rose from eighth spot to fifth on the ladder by inflicting the fourth loss of the season on the second-placed Giants.
The GIANTS were four points up about 11 minutes into the last term, but the Crows finished with a flourish.
The flurry started with Taylor Walker's pack mark and conversion and ended with an Eddie Betts trademark: a freakish snap from near the boundary.
The GIANTS were superbly served by onballers Tim Taranto (36 disposals, seven tackles) and Josh Kelly (33 touches, two goals), while Stephen Coniglio and Heath Shaw both gathered 27 possessions.
Both sides suffered late withdrawals - GIANTS star Toby Greene didn't overcome a knee injury while Adelaide's Tom Lynch hurt a calf muscle in the pre-match warm-up and was a last-minute scratching.
Despite losing Lynch, the Crows opened strongly but failed to convert their dominance into scoreboard advantage - they logged 32 inside 50s to 17 by half-time but led by just nine points.
But when Josh Jenkins opened the goal scoring for a third consecutive quarter and teammate Lachlan Murphy snapped accurately a minute later, the home side held a 21-point break six minutes into the third term.
The GIANTS then rallied and, when Kelly slotted his second major late in the quarter, the visitors were in front for the first time.
But the GIANTS' four-point advantage at the last change rapidly disappeared in the last term when Crows Rory Sloane and Brad Crouch goaled, only for the GIANTS to reply twice to restore their four-point lead.
Walker then crunched a pack and took a high mark and goaled, triggering Adelaide's defining late-scoring spree.
ADELAIDE 2.5 4.7 6.7 12.10 (82)
GIANTS 1.2 3.4 7.5 9.7 (61)
GOALS
Adelaide: Jenkins 3, Walker 2, Sloane 2, Betts 2, Murphy, B.Crouch, Greenwood
GIANTS: Himmelberg 2, Kelly 2, Perryman, Hopper, Taranto, Lloyd, Cameron
BEST
Adelaide: M Crouch, B Crouch, Ellis-Yolmen, Milera, Hartigan, O'Brien
GIANTS: Kelly, Taranto, Coniglio, De Boer, Perryman, Haynes
INJURIES
Adelaide: Tom Lynch (calf) replaced in selected side by Hugh Greenwood
GIANTS: Toby Greene (knee) replaced in selected side by Daniel Lloyd
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Donlon, Power, Chamberlain, Gianfagna
Official crowd: 41,710 at Adelaide Oval
