Hawks dethrone Kings in tough, tight tussle

The Result

Illawarra Hawks 85 – Sydney Kings 82

The Story

It was a tale of two halves for the Illawarra Hawks as they overcame a brave Sydney Kings outift at Qudos Bank Arena this afternoon to take Game 1 of the 'Freeway Series'.

The Hawks bucked their recent trend of sluggish starts - shooting out to a 26-20 lead at quarter time after outplaying and outhustling the Kings in the opening stanza.

Deng Adel was inserted into the starting lineup for the first time this season and led from the air on the defensive end. A monster chase-down block setting the tone for a stingy first half defensive effort for the Hawks as they took a 50-42 lead into the sheds.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">It’s <a href="https://twitter.com/Foreverdeng?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Foreverdeng</a> defending the house ? his first ever <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@nbl</a> block!<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IllawarraProud?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IllawarraProud</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FlyAsOne?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FlyAsOne</a> <a href="https://t.co/wykJ3aHM1Z">pic.twitter.com/wykJ3aHM1Z</a></p>&mdash; Illawarra Hawks Basketball (@illawarrahawks) <a href="https://twitter.com/illawarrahawks/status/1360811177337479168?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 14, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>


A season low 11-point third quarter from the visitors invited the Kings back into the contest, with Jarell Martin and Casper Ware both getting busy for the reigning NBL finalists. The Hawks clinging to a 61-59 lead at the final break.

From there it looked like the Kings would steam home.

Kings veteran Brad Newley made a couple of timely buckets before Ware and Hawks guard Tyler Harvey traded blows late in the game. Harvey landed a late bomb from three that seemed to settle the result, before Ware flipped home a ridiculous bucket of his own to help the Kings claw their way back to the front.

"I mean this is why you play basketball, you look forward to these kind of games. we knew they werent gonna lay down and we weren't gonna lay down either. It's always fun going back and forth like that but when you're so caught up in the moment, you don't really think about that one on one matchup with Casper and me. I'm just trying to go out and win the game," Harvey said.

Two key plays from Justin Simon in the space of a minute - an offensive rebound and putback dunk, followed by a steal on Ware - effectively decided the match though.

The Hawks winning the ball back with less than 10 second to go, allowing Adel to hit a pair of clutch free throws to extend the lead to three. Newley missed a contested three to send the game to OT - the Hawks notching their fifth win of the season and matching their entire total for last year.

"[The Kings} are a good basketball team and we came in here, a young new group, trying to win a very important game against our cross-town rival," Coach Brian Goorjian said.

"They weren't going to let it go and we knew they were going to make a run at us. In our last game at home, when it was basket for basket down the stretch, we didn't handle that very well. Tonight, defensively we made them take tough shots down the last few minutes of the game and offensively we got good shots and made big plays," Goorjian said.

"We're playing against, tradionally, the big hitters, the big cities, the team that have big stadiums, the big money, the big franchises...these teams are top four. [Sydney] went to the final last year, Melbourne United's pick one in this thing by a long way," Goorjian said.

The game also marked Goorjian's long awaited return to Sydney more than a decade after leading them to their last NBL title.

"So many mixed emotions. When I walked into the stadium...the lady at the front door I know, the manager I know, the trainer I know...a lot of people that I'm fond of and care about. There is emotion there, you're hanging on the rafters and have had many good years here and many good memories," Goorjian said.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">File that under Freeway Series classics ?<br><br>Re-live the big moments in a HUGE fourth quarter that featured 15 lead changes between the <a href="https://twitter.com/SydneyKings?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SydneyKings</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/illawarrahawks?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@illawarrahawks</a> ?<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL21?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL21</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ILLatSYD?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ILLatSYD</a> <a href="https://t.co/80QP292rEG">pic.twitter.com/80QP292rEG</a></p>&mdash; The NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1360833039845105665?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 14, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

The Stats

Tyler Harvey has 25 points and 4 rebounds to continue his MVP-esque start to the year.

Cam 'The Bear' Bairstow tipped in 13 points and pulled down 9 rebounds in another impressive display on the road back from injury.

Next Star Justinian Jessup had 12 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists in another well rounded effort while Justin Simon did a bit of everything on his way to 12 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 crucial steals. 

Simon's move to the bench not curbing his influence, with coach Goorjian singling him out for a couple of important plays at the death.

"I think the big move was to bring a small in there and take Froling out. They went small and matched that and so we put Justin [Simon] on Casper [Ware]. He's really helping Adel too, taking the pressure off, making special plays offensively as well. We come in here [and Justin] locks down their main guy on the last possesion of regulation and he got that great offensive rebound and putback," Goorjian said.

Boomer Deng Adel hit some big buckets in his 11 points while adding a steal and a block. Skipper AJ Ogilvy chipped in with 7 points, 5 rebounds, a steal and 2 blocks while Sam Froling also had 5 points and 5 boards to go with a solitary steal.

The Casualty Ward

Another clean bill of health for the Hawks after a disrupted start to the season.

Lachie Dent, Dan Grida and Akoldah Gak didn't suit up tonight, with Grida and Dent both working their way back into fulltime action.

The Road Ahead

Round 5 – Saturday 20 February at 3pm v Cairns Taipans @ John Cain Arena, Melbourne

Hublife awaits the Hawks and a third #NBL21 matchup with the struggling Cairns Taipans will open the side's month long stay in Melbourne. 

The Taipans sit second last on the NBL ladder with a 2-6 record and even though they are a far cry from the side that made a serious run at last year's NBL title, they'll enter the hub with fresh legs having not played since February 8.

The Hawks have accounted for the Snakes by an average of 18 points over their two clashes so far this season.