The Chiefs first five Gareth Anscombe failed with a last-minute 52-metre penalty attempt as the Crusaders hung on for a nail-biting 18-17 win over the defending champions in their Super Rugby clash in Hamilton.
Anscombe's effort after the siren came up just short to hand the Crusaders their fifth win of the campaign after first-five Colin Slade landed six penalties for the visitors.
The Crusaders opened up an early 9-3 lead but Tom Marshall's try just before the break gave the hosts a 17-9 advantage, with the Crusaders losing their way after All Blacks forward Kieran Read was forced off with concussion and lock Dominic Bird was shown a yellow card.
They rebounded, though, in the second period with Slade knocking over the winning penalty from 25 metres out with eight minutes remaining to hand the New Zealand conference leaders their second defeat in eight games.
The win lifts the Crusaders to fourth on the overall ladder and second in the New Zealand conference on 22 points, one point ahead of the Hurricanes and three points behind the two-time champion Chiefs.