Hawks shoot down 36ers to claw within one win of playoffs

The Result

Illawarra Hawks 97 - Adelaide 36ers 83

The Story

The Hawks entered today's clash needing nothing less than a win to keep their playoff push alive - and they never looked like dropping this one against the Adelaide 36ers in front of over 3000 fans at the WIN Entertainment Centre.

It was a familiar face leading the scoring charge for Illawarra in the opening term, with Tyler Harvey continuing his fine form against the 36ers and dropping home nine first quarter points - including this bomb from deep.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">T-swish is ? <a href="https://twitter.com/YoungTRaaw?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@YoungTRaaw</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IllawarraProud?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IllawarraProud</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FlyAsOne?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FlyAsOne</a> <a href="https://t.co/AXs7yfvKWY">pic.twitter.com/AXs7yfvKWY</a></p>— Illawarra Hawks Basketball (@illawarrahawks) <a href="https://twitter.com/illawarrahawks/status/1398873566360182786?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 30, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Coach Brian Goorjian has been glowing in his praise of the bench lately, and he headed their again earlier than expected as Dan Grida, Tim Coenraad and Emmett Naar all hit the floor running with three-balls before the first break to put Illawarra up 31-25.

In-form big man Sam Froling foun himself in some early foul trrouble so was forced to take a seat, but it was a couple of wily vets who stepped up and set the Hawks alight in the second frame.

Coenraad launching and hitting three more triples, while skipper AJ Ogilvy was unstoppable on both ends of the floor - the 32-year-old registering 7 points, 3 rebound, 2 steals and 3 blocks (including this one) in a stellar opening half.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Skip <a href="https://twitter.com/AJ_Ogilvy?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AJ_Ogilvy</a> putting on a bl?c party<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IllawarraProud?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IllawarraProud</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FlyAsOne?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FlyAsOne</a> <a href="https://t.co/Dmc4LdcVjJ">pic.twitter.com/Dmc4LdcVjJ</a></p>— Illawarra Hawks Basketball (@illawarrahawks) <a href="https://twitter.com/illawarrahawks/status/1398877918713901066?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 30, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

The Hawks taking a well-earned 52-38 lead into the oranges.

Everyone loves a good outfit change, and after an indifferent opening to the game, the Defensive Player of the Year favourite Justin Simon arrived back on court with some new boots and a new mindset in the second half. The adjustment working wonders for the fan favourite as he found himself wide open in the corner to drop this three home.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">New ?, new stroke for <a href="https://twitter.com/simon_Says_so?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@simon_Says_so</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IllawarraProud?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IllawarraProud</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FlyAsOne?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FlyAsOne</a> <a href="https://t.co/TmHJKDOIu6">pic.twitter.com/TmHJKDOIu6</a></p>— Illawarra Hawks Basketball (@illawarrahawks) <a href="https://twitter.com/illawarrahawks/status/1398885285039988740?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 30, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Isaac White continued his hot form against his home state side, while Dan Grida found his stroke again as he continues his recovery from a thumb issue, with the Hawks suddenly looking a lot deeper and determined than many predicted.

The Hawks continuing to apply pressure to a tired looking Adelaide outfit, with steal after steal helping Illawarra push their lead out past 20 by the three-quarter time.

The final 10 minutes saw Deng Deng make the most of some run with 9 points, while local lad Lachie Dent got some well-deserved minutes down the stretch as well. The Hawks running out comfortable 97-83 victors to move into third place on the NBL ladder.

The Stats

The Hawks rattled off a few records tonight in the win over the 36ers.

The opening quarter was the Hawks highest first quarter total of the season (31 points), and their total of 97 points was their highest at the WIN Entertainment Centre all season.

The Hawks also became the first team to have zero turnovers in a half this NBL season in the opening 20 minutes.

Both sides shot the ball well with the Hawks finishing with shooting percentages of 45-38-66 (FG-3FG-FT). Illawarra continues to see an uptick in assist numbers which might please coach Goorjian, with the unselfishness and willingess to share the ball around allowing more players to get in on the offensive action.

Illawarra's defence has been making life miserable for opposing side's lately, with the Hawks registering another 12 swipes and three blocks in this contest.

The Hawks bench outscored their opponents by 42-38, and were well led by Dan Grida (10) Tim Coenraad (12), Deng Deng (9) and Isaac White (8).

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The Fallout

"The difference in the team now, from the start of the year is the bench. We've been playing of Tyler [Harvey] and Justinian [Jessup] all year but now it's more than that. Each time I go to the bench, Emmett [Naar] had a really good game tonight and I played Emmett and Tyler together and he was really good with the on-ball and took some pressure off Tyler there. And then Isaac [White] played great for us, Tim Coenraad came in and played well, Deng Deng played well with his minutes so again, I'm naming eight or nine guys and that's really so important as we're coming down this back stretch," coach Brian Goorjian said.

"You felt it on the bench that that crowd was right behind us for the whole night and it's a nice little atmosphere here that we've worked hard for. And I thought it was a great game to just starting to build this thing with the fans and the team, and that's really important now with this home court. Down the stretch we've worked hard for that so I thank the community of Wollongong for their support tonight," Goorjian said.

"I'm excited. Sydney won last night, played great basketball, it's war and this is why you're in the game. Fearless, just excited to be with this group and playing in these games that count and experiencing this. This is what we all live for, I'm excited, excited about tonight and I look forward to Perth and Sydney and let's see where it takes us. But I've enjoyed this immensely," Goorjian said.

"I mean it's what every player plays for, you know, is to win and play in these big games and to win, to make the playoffs and things like that. The last couple of years, especially last year towards halfway through the season we were almost statistically out of it. So it's good to get that experience and really play for something. I think the energy's just really lifted lately for the team and we've had that sense of urgency that we need to have and it's just sort of contagious amongst the team and it's just felt great to have that opportunity to be fighting for the playoffs," guard Emmett Naar said.

"It makes my job a lot easier playing with such capable players. I think our bigs make really good decisions on the short rools, and obviously having great shooters helps the big get open more so yeah, there's a lot of ways we can score out of pick and roll and even not out of pick and roll depending on which lineups we've got. I think we've got a bit of versatility there depending who's on the court and as I said it makes my job a lot easier," Naar said.

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