Hawks rout the Phoenix to make it three straight

The Phoenix came into Friday's match at WIN Entertainment Centre missing three of their most important players – centre Alan Williams, point guard Gary Browne and new import Abdel Nader.

The match had all the warning signs of a danger game for Justin Tatum's men, but this is a new look Hawks outfit, and their intentions were clear from the opening tip.

By the end of the first quarter, the Hawks already opened up a 24-15 lead with Justin Robinson (19 points) scoring on the buzzer. He then scored the first seven points of the second quarter to push the lead out to 16.

Illawarra was up 53-36 at the half even with Tyler Harvey (seven) taking just two shots and scoring three points.

Gary Clark (16 points, 13 rebounds, four assists) opened the second half with five quick points for the Hawks to ensure the home team remained on top.

The Phoenix never seriously threaten the Hawks leading by as much as 41 before winning by 38 on 62 per cent field goal shooting with 12-of-21 from downtown.

Sam Froling dominated inside with 20 points despite just 2-of-7 free-throw shooting with Lachlan Olbrich in support with 11 points and six rebounds. Hyunjung Lee hit three triples for 15 points with Next Star AJ Johnson adding 11.

Tatum was pleased the Hawks kept their feet on the throat of the Phoenix.

"Our goal is to keep moving on up the ladder and keep finding ways to better ourselves as a group," he said.

"Those guys are starting to believe more every day and our confidence is just building through on the roof when we can translate what we're doing in practice in games."

The Illawarra faithful again showed out with more than 4,000 in the house and one lucky member going home in a brand new set of wheels with a successful half-court attempt at 3/4 time.

The Hawks have a seven-day break to prepare for a crucial match-up with the JackJumpers in Tasmania next Friday night before heading north to face the Bullets on Sunday afternoon.

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL ROUND 14

ILLAWARRA HAWKS 116 (Froling 20, Robinson 19, Clark 16)

SOUTH EAST MELBOURNE PHOENIX 78 (Creek 24, Stattmann 11, Ayre 10)

BOX SCORE