Kings eliminate Hawks from NBL22 contention

The Illawarra Hawks’ NBL22 season has come to an end, after going down 99-87 to the Sydney Kings at Qudos Bank Arena on Sunday.

The star of semi-final number two was league MVP Jaylen Adams, who tallied 29 points, seven rebounds, three assists and one steal.

The point guard was supported by teammates Jarell Martin (23 points and nine boards), Ian Clark (17 points) and Illawarra product Xavier Cooks (16 points and 11 rebounds).

Other factors that helped the Kings reach their first grand final since 2020 were superior field goal percentage (47-41), points in the paint (46-32), bench points (22-17) and free-throw percentage (85-66).

In the loss, Tyler Harvey top-scored for the Hawks with 21 points, while also adding four rebounds, three dimes and three steals.

Not to be outdone was Australian Boomer Duop Reathm, who contributed 20 points, four rebounds and three blocks.

Others to score in double-figures for the visitors were Xavier Rathan-Mayes (14 points and seven boards) and Justinian Jessup (12 points, three rebounds and three assists).

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Bench spark plug <a href="https://twitter.com/xrm_22?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@xrm_22</a> doin&#39; work ?<br><br>?: <a href="https://twitter.com/10PeachAu?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@10PeachAu</a> and <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/TogetherWeFly?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TogetherWeFly</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeAreIllawarra?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeAreIllawarra</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL22?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL22</a> <a href="https://t.co/7ZSWgfzdlY">pic.twitter.com/7ZSWgfzdlY</a></p>&mdash; Illawarra Hawks Basketball (@illawarrahawks) <a href="https://twitter.com/illawarrahawks/status/1520635995305127936?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 1, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

The Kings jumped out of the blocks, leading 9-4 after three and a half minutes, thanks to four early points from Cooks.

Bench sparkplug Rathan-Mayes proved pivotal for Illawarra, who closed within two (18-16) with just over two to play.

With 1.47 left to play in the first quarter, 13-season veteran Tim Coenraad checked in and became just the third Hawk ever to chalk up 350 NBL games.

Following that, Hawks the Hawks closed on a 5-0, capped by a Jessup triple, to lead 23-22 at the first change.

In the second term, the two sides exchanged shots from deep, with Harvey and Jessup’s efforts being matched by Adams.

Reath joined in the three-point barrage, while Rathan-Mayes continued to snipe from the mid-range, as the Hawks extended their lead to nine (42-33).

MVP Adams picked up his third foul with 3.26 to play in the second term, which allowed Illawarra to extend their advantage to 15 following a steal and lay-up by Cleveland.

By half-time, the Kings had clawed themselves back to 54-44, thanks to hustle play from Tom Vodanovich.

A big reason for this lead was backcourt duo Harvey and Jessup, who combined for 26 - eclipsing their combined game one total of 19.

In the third term, Martin and Cooks sparked the hosts on a 7-0 run, to close the deficit to just three - forcing Goorjian into a time-out.

That run was stopped by NBL Next Star Jessup before Harvey and Reath hit back-to-back triples.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Sunday sh3??3??t-out ft. <a href="https://twitter.com/YoungTRaaw?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@YoungTRaaw</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/DuopReath?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DuopReath</a> ?<br><br>?: <a href="https://twitter.com/10PeachAu?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@10PeachAu</a> and <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/TogetherWeFly?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TogetherWeFly</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeAreIllawarra?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeAreIllawarra</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL22?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL22</a> <a href="https://t.co/eqAxD4KdC8">pic.twitter.com/eqAxD4KdC8</a></p>&mdash; Illawarra Hawks Basketball (@illawarrahawks) <a href="https://twitter.com/illawarrahawks/status/1520648551583285249?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 1, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Adams was single-handedly keeping the hosts in it, shown by his incredible four-point play.

Then fellow import Martin chimed in with a three and and-one before Ian Clark gave the Kings the lead 66-65 with an acrobatic lay-up, with 4.04 to play.

Both sides traded baskets late in the term before the Kings went into the final change up 69-67.

Despite a Dejan Vasiljevic triple, Cleveland and an and-one by Sam Froling helped restore the Hawks’ lead.

Back-to-back blocks by Reath and another lay-up by Cleveland capped a 9-0 run for Illawarra, stemmed by Martin.

The hosts then rattled off their own 9-0 run, including big downtown shots by Adams and Clark, to put the Kings up by five.

Despite Harvey picking up his fifth foul with 3.29 to play, the Hawks remained close, thanks to two threes by Canadian guard Rathan-Mayes.

Reath added another shot from downtown but it was quickly cancelled out by Adams, to give the purple and gold the 92-87 lead going into the final 1.02.

Clutch shots from the charity stripe by Cooks and Adams sealed the Hawks’ fate, with the Kings winning 99-87 - seeing then progress to the grand final, where they’ll face the winner of Monday’s other semi-final between Melbourne and Tasmania.

That 99-point performance marked the Kings' highest-ever tally in a 40-minute post-season fixture, which helped Sydney become the first team ever to come back from a double-digit deficit at half-time and win a finals game.

For the Hawks, the loss represents Goorjian's first winless post-season since 1990.