Hawks Scare Kings in Sunday Thriller

The Illawarra Hawks defied their lowly position on the ladder to push the Sydney Kings, but the defending champions flexed their muscles late to extinguish hopes of an upset at Qudos Bank Arena. 

With fewer than 70 seconds to go in this match, the Illawarra Hawks led the Sydney Kings. It was 79-78; a surreal scoreline that highlights just how unpredictable the NBL can be, and came via a Lachie Dent floater. 

Then there was a tantalising Tyler Harvey teardrop that did everything but drop in the final minute. If not for a composed finish from the Kings, the Hawks may have delivered the upset of the season. Instead, the Kings escaped with an 84-79 victory. 

On paper, this Freeway Series contest featured two teams heading in opposite directions. The Sydney Kings, running hot as their championship defence looks as ominous as ever; the Illawarra Hawks, stuck in a rut and besieged by frustrations at the bottom of the ladder. In reality, it was not so straight-forward. 

Hawks coach Jacob Jackomas game-planned a scrappy affair for his team, designed to frustrate and curtail the free-flowing offence of the Kings. 

Jackomas would have been extremely happy with this team, particularly on the defensive end of the floor. But you can’t keep a good champion down for long, and the Kings found inspiration from a familiar source. 

Derrick Walton Jr had the ball on a string in the first quarter, dazzling the crowd with a pair of Globetrotter-like assists in the opening three minutes. 

The former Michigan Wolverine with 45 games of NBA experience (split between the Miami Heat, LA Clippers and Detroit Pistons) has been excellent since stepping into the point guard position, where he has replaced the 2021/2022 NBL MVP, Jaylen Adams. Walton finished with a team-high 19 points and also had seven assists. 

But the Illawarra Hawks were standing their ground, particularly in the paint. Skilled big man Sam Froling scored eight of the Hawks’ first 10 points, although foul trouble saw him earn an extended stint on the bench sooner than he would have liked. 

Froling had 12 of his first 14 points in the first half, and added six of his nine rebounds. It helped the Hawks to navigate their way to an unlikely 29-21 lead with three minutes gone in the second quarter. 

The Kings’ sparkplug Dejan Vasiljevic was zero from four from the field in the first half (he would finish with four points); whereas opposing guard Tyler Harvey was running hot. 

He had 15 points at the main break on five of 12 shooting, but was most deadly from three-point range at this stage (four from eight, 50%). Harvey finished with a game-high 24 points on eight of 22 shooting from the field. 

The Kings, like the champions they are, clawed their way back into the contest in what felt like the blink of an eye, tying the game up at half-time (37-37) thanks to a Kouat Noi buzzer-beater three-pointer. It was his second from long range in the half, where he had eight of his 12 points. 

The Kings’ American-Brazilian import Tim Soares continued his terrific run of form, catching and finishing on a Walton assist early in the third quarter that set a strong tone for the second half. The Kings scored 12 of the first 15 points of the third quarter, which saw them skip to a 49-40 lead. 

Harvey continued to fire from outside the arc and added a fifth triple, but by the time the third quarter was over the Hawks found themselves in a 63-54 hole. 

When Shaun Bruce lobbed to a high-flying Jaylin Galloway, the finish established a 13-point lead (67-54). Galloway, it must be said, was lively all game. He had 13 points and provided plenty of pace on the offensive end. 

Back-to-back Hawks three-pointers, from Harvey (his sixth) and Lachlan Dent (his third, on his way to 15 points) closed it to 71-69 with four minutes to play. Soares and Walton again combined late, executing some terrific plays on the offensive end that gave Chase Buford reason to exhale. Falsely. 

The Illawarra Hawks didn’t give up, alongside the near heroics of Harvey and Dent, there was also a three-point shot from Deng Deng that would have likely sent the contest into overtime. 

As it rimmed out, the Kings grabbed the rebound, and Galloway was immediately fouled before he closed out the contest with a pair of free throws to deliver an 84-79 lead. Nothing comes easy in the NBL. 

NBL MVP contender Xavier Cooks was quiet by his standards, but put in a workmanlike shift that saw him finish with eight points, eight rebounds and seven assists. Cooks won’t have many matches where he posts assists turnovers, which he got away with in this game. Perhaps he’ll concede it was due to a bit of luck. 

But the Kings won, as they always do – and for the 17th time this season. And the Hawks lost in a valiant effort, which Jackomas will surely be tired of. It was their 21st defeat of the season. Kings coach Chase Buford acknowledged they are far better than that. 

The Hawks head across the ditch as they take Breakers on Thursday, tip off 5:30pm AEDT. 

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL ROUND 15

SYDNEY KINGS 84 (Walton Jr 19, Soares 15, Galloway 13)

ILLAWARRA HAWKS 79 (Harvey 24, Dent 15, Froling 14) 

BOX SCORE