Hawks lose overtime thriller to Kings

The Illawarra Hawks' six-game win streak is over, following a tough 107-102 loss to the Sydney Kings at the WIN Entertainment Centre.

Leading the way in episode three of the Adrian Hurley Cup, which had the highest combined scoring total (209) on NBL22, was sharpshooter Dejan Vasiljevic, who hit a six three on his way to a career-high 33 points.

Supporting the guard in the Kings’ highest scoring output of this campaign were teammates Jarell Martin (21 points and six rebounds), Jaylen Adams (17 points, seven rebounds and seven assists), Ian Clark (17 points) and Xavier Cooks (14 points, 13 rebounds and six assists) - marking the latter’s 11th double-double of the season.

The win, the Kings’ 13th straight, cemented their spot in the NBL22 Finals.

In the thrilling loss, Tyler Harvey was the high man for the Hawks, scoring an equal career-high 35 points, to go with five rebounds, five assists and two steals.

Other standouts for the Hawks during the round 20 Freeway Series showdown were NBL Next Star Justinian Jessup (21 points and four assists), Duop Reath (17 points and four boards) and Sam Froling (14 points and 13 rebounds).

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">?‍? <a href="https://twitter.com/YoungTRaaw?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@YoungTRaaw</a> is cookin' with eight first-quarter points ?<br><br>?: <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNAusNZ?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ESPNAusNZ</a> via <a href="https://twitter.com/kayosports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@kayosports</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/Foxtel?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Foxtel</a><br> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeAreIllawarra?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeAreIllawarra</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FlyAsOne?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FlyAsOne</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL22?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL22</a> <a href="https://t.co/UHTvzE9Y9z">pic.twitter.com/UHTvzE9Y9z</a></p>— Illawarra Hawks Basketball (@illawarrahawks) <a href="https://twitter.com/illawarrahawks/status/1514543854439264264?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 14, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Vasiljevic landed two early bombs, which was combatted by efforts from Jessup and Harvey, was the hosts led 7-6 after two and a half minutes.

That lead stretched to four (14-10) thanks to more silky skills from the Hawk's backcourt sharpshooters Harvey and Jessup, forcing Chase Buford to call a time-out.

The Kings then rattled off eight straight, including five points from big man Makur Maker, to take a four-point lead.

An up and under lay-up by Rathan-Mayes as time expired helped the Hawks go into the lead down one (24-23).

A triple by Reath and three-point play by Harvey helped Illawarra start period two on a 6-0 run, before back-to-back triples by Vasiljevic kept the Kings in it.

The guards’ shoot-out continued as the second quarter wore on, with Harvey and the red-hot Vasiljevic trading blows.

NBL Next Star Jessup then re-joined the party, with eight straight, as the hosts led going into the dying moments of the half - before Ian Clark tied it up 53-all at the break.

This marked just the third game this season - out of 125 - that both teams have 50-points at half-time, while the 106 combined points also equalled the most first-half points in any game this season (Bullets vs Taipans also 53 each in round 10).

Leading the charge for the hosts in that was Harvey (18 points), which is the most by any player this season at half-time against Sydney Kings, while 17 for Vasiljevic was his highest-scoring half in NBL22 (averages 11.5 per game over the season).

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Clear the runway for Slammin' <a href="https://twitter.com/samfroling_?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@samfroling_</a> ?<br><br>?: <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNAusNZ?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ESPNAusNZ</a> via <a href="https://twitter.com/kayosports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@kayosports</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/Foxtel?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Foxtel</a> <br> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeAreIllawarra?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeAreIllawarra</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FlyAsOne?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FlyAsOne</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL22?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL22</a> <a href="https://t.co/crNGp0RVYg">pic.twitter.com/crNGp0RVYg</a></p>— Illawarra Hawks Basketball (@illawarrahawks) <a href="https://twitter.com/illawarrahawks/status/1514553671677526019?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 14, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

In the third, tough baskets from Cooks and Martin sparked the visitors into a 17-9 run to start the game, forcing Goorjian to call a time-out.

Since that stoppage, the Hawks, behind the efforts of Coenraad and Sam Froling, levelled the scores at 72-all, with 90 seconds left to play in the term.

Harvey and Clark then traded triples, as the Kings led 78-75 at the final change.

Both heavyweights continued to trade punches in the fourth, with Cooks and Harvey providing clutch plays for their respective sides.

Nothing could split the teams, with Reath tying up the scores at 92-all with 1.20 left on the clock.

Both NSW rivals had chances to win it at the death, including a triple in the final second by Rathan-Mayes, but the game went into overtime, as the scores were tied 92-all.

Two straight triples by Clark and Martin put the Kings up by six early in the extra period, before the latter landed a tip-in and Buford’s troops led by eight with 3.11 left to play.

Despite the best efforts of Harvey, the extra period belonged to Clark (eight) and Martin (seven), as the visitors ran out five-point winners and extended their win streak to 13.

Next up for the Hawks, who remain in third with a 17-9 record, is a trip to Perth to take on the Wildcats on Friday, April 22 from 9.30pm.