Game Report: Hawks vs Taipans | Rd11 NBL26

Dan Grida delivered one of the most inspired performances of his career, but it wasn’t enough to stop the Cairns Taipans from handing the Illawarra Hawks a tough 93–76 loss at the WIN Entertainment Centre on Saturday night.

The defending champions were aiming to build momentum after Thursday’s thrilling OT win over SEM Phoenix, but a brutal second quarter and cold shooting across the board saw the Hawks slip to 5–10 on the season.

Grida Sparks Life in The Sandpit

Just this week returning from several weeks out with concussion, Grida was electric in his 10 minutes of action, dropping a career-high 18 points on 6-of-7 shooting, including a pair of threes. His relentless energy in the third quarter closed the gap and re-engaged the Wollongong crowd, and when he extended the burst into the fourth, the Hawks pulled to within six points midway through the term after it had been 23 earlier in the half.

But just as the Hawks had momentum, Cairns responded with a ruthless 15–4 run to close the game out and silencing the home crowd down the stretch.

It was only the second time in Grida’s seven-season career that he led the team in scoring — the last coming in Round 18, 2019 against New Zealand — and his effort was one of the lone bright spots in an otherwise frustrating night.

Tough Shooting, Glass Battle Lost

Despite reducing their turnovers to just 10 (down from 24 on Thursday), the Hawks were hammered on the boards, losing the rebounding count 51–41, including giving up 16 offensive rebounds.

JaVale McGee fought through traffic for 17 points and 11 boards, while William Hickey was a stat-sheet stuffer with 10 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists. Tyler Harvey added 12, but the Hawks’ usually reliable import trio of McGee, Harvey and QJ Peterson combined to shoot just 12-of-39 from the field.

Peterson, who had exploded for 42 points two nights earlier, was held to just 7 on 1-of-8 shooting.

Taipans Bite Back Despite Missing Stars

Missing Jack McVeigh, Sam Waardenburg and Reyne Smith, few gave Cairns a chance heading in, but the visitors executed superbly.

Andrew Andrews had 27 points (5/10 3PT), 6 assists and 5 rebounds, while Admiral Schofield (17 pts, 11 rebs) and Kyrin Galloway (16 pts, 14 rebs, 5 asts).

The Snakes were precise, tough, and took advantage of second-chance looks to snap a rough stretch of 11 losses in 12 games, and notch their third straight win over the Hawks in Wollongong.

The Hawks now regroup ahead of a big clash on Thursday, December 11 as they return to WIN Entertainment Centre to host the Brisbane Bullets.

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HUNGRY JACK’S NBL SEASON 2025/26 | RD 11 (Boxscore)
CAIRNS TAIPANS 93 (Andrews 27, Schofield 17, Galloway 16)
ILLAWARRA HAWKS 76 (Grida 18, McGee 17, Harvey 12)