Reath powers Hawks to massive win against Bullets

The Illawarra Hawks recorded their sixth straight win on Saturday, as they smashed the Brisbane Bullets 108-77 at Nissan Arena.

It was a record-breaking night for the Hawks, as the 108 marked their highest score of NBL22 and equal-best effort of any team this season (matching Melbourne United's effort against New Zealand).

The 31-point win is the Hawks' fifth-biggest road win in franchise history and the second-biggest margin of victory by Illawarra against Brisbane from their previous 98 meetings (the biggest being by 39 points in December 2005).

The star of the show was Duop Reath, who scored a game-high 28 points (thanks to 86 per cent shooting from the field), to go with 11 rebounds and one assist.

The Australian Boomer was well-supported by teammates Antonius Cleveland and Tyler Harvey (returning from a two-game absence due to a knee complaint), who both notched 18 points.

The former also added 10 boards and four assists while Harvey chipped in six dimes, five boards and three steals.

In the win, 11 of the Hawks' 12 players got their names on the scoreboard, as the team also dominated from the field (60.2 per cent shooting for a season's best), rebounds (46-32) and free-throw percentage (78-52).

In the loss, Robert Franks paced the Bullets during their final home game of NBL22 with 19, with Tom Digbeu (14), Anthony Drmic (11) and Chuanxing Liu (10) also scoring in double-figures.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/YoungTRaaw?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@YoungTRaaw</a> goes ??stairs to <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> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeAreIllawarra?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeAreIllawarra</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FlyAsOne?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FlyAsOne</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL22?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL22</a> <a href="https://t.co/wGJr5F8ATT">pic.twitter.com/wGJr5F8ATT</a></p>&mdash; Illawarra Hawks Basketball (@illawarrahawks) <a href="https://twitter.com/illawarrahawks/status/1512703174737801216?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 9, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Tough baskets by Cleveland and Froling helped the Hawks race out to a 7-2 lead - which extended to 11-4 thanks to consecutive Reath baskets.

Illawarra’s unselfish start continued with Harvey hitting Sam Froling and Reath with rolls to the basket before hitting his own triple.

Jumpers from Isaac White and Harry Froling helped the Hawks hit all their 11 shots from two-point land in the first term, as Goorjian’s side lead by 17 (32-15) at the first break - their equal-best output during the first 10 minutes all season.

The visitors’ run continued in the second, outscoring their opponents 13-9 (including an alley-oop jam between Harvey and Sam Froling) - stretching the lead out to 21 points midway through the term.

An and-one play by Lamar Patterso capped a 10-0 run by the hosts, closing the margin to 13.

A late basket by Duop (taking his first-half tally to 14), put the Hawks up 54-39 at the break - marking their highest first-half score and biggest lead of NBL22.

A more determined Brisbane team rattled off seven straight early in the third, closing the gap to just 10.

But a Harvey triple capped a 7-0 run by the visitors, forced James Duncan into a time-out - as the lead grew to 17.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">SHOWTIME in BrisVegas??<a href="https://twitter.com/xrm_22?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@xrm_22</a> ? <a href="https://twitter.com/ac_uno1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ac_uno1</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&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeAreIllawarra</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FlyAsOne?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FlyAsOne</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL22?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL22</a> <a href="https://t.co/z5KC9iRTeD">pic.twitter.com/z5KC9iRTeD</a></p>&mdash; Illawarra Hawks Basketball (@illawarrahawks) <a href="https://twitter.com/illawarrahawks/status/1512713635214540810?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 9, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Two highlight jams by Cleveland helped the Hawks extend their lead in the final few minutes of the third, as Goorjian’s side led 83-59 at the final change.

Illawarra kept its foot on the throat in the fourth, scoring eight of the first 13 points - seeing the margin balloon to 27 with eight to play.

Energetic plays late in the piece by Cleveland and Akoldah Gak helped the Hawks run out 31-point winners - to secure their 17th win of the season.

Next up for the Hawks, who last chalked up sixth straight wins in November 2005, is episode three of the Adrian Hurley Cup against arch-rivals Sydney on Thursday at the WIN Entertainment Centre - with tickets available via Ticketmaster.