Sixth consecutive win beckons for Hawks against Bullets

Fresh off a season's best fifth straight win, Brian Goorjian's Illawarra Hawks, who are now third on the ladder, head north this weekend to take on the Brisbane Bullets for the final time in NBL22.

After losing their series opener to the Bullets at Nissan Arena on December 19, the Hawks exacted revenge on Thursday - downing Brisbane 87-70 at the WIN Entertainment Centre.

With just four games until the 2022 NBL Finals tips off, each fixture is crucial for the seeding of the foundation club's finals charge.

"All we are now, with four games to go, is we're in the mix," Hawks coach Brian Goorjian said.

"We've still got work to do."

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A big reason for this recent surge, which has included winning nine of the past 11, has been the Hawks' improvements on the defensive end.

Through the first 11 rounds, the Hawks were the worst defensive team in the competition, allowing 87.3 points/game.

Since then, through rounds 12-18, the Wollongong-based club have been the stingiest side, holding teams to just 78.6 points each game.

The catalyst for this has been Defensive Player of the Year contender Antonius Cleveland, who is averaging 2.04 steals (second-best in the NBL) and 1.17 blocks (ninth) through the first 24 games of the season.

As well as the Memphis product, Duop Reath's 1.54 blocks/game (fifth-best in league) and Tyler Harvey's 1.55 steals (seventh-best) are key cogs in the Hawks' defensive machine.

These stats have helped Illawarra rise to second in the league in steals (7.3) and blocks (4.9) per game - both foundations of Goorjian sides over the years.

Speaking of Harvey, the Eastern Washington Eagles alum is hoping to return from a knee complaint, which has seen him miss the Hawks' past two fixtures.

In the point guard's absence, Cleveland, NBL Next Star Justinian Jessup and Canadian Xavier Rathan-Mayes have stepped up.

Cleveland has scored in double-figures in his past eight games, including 22 points against Melbourne United on Saturday.

While Jessup (29 points vs Brisbane) and Rathan-Mayes (25 points vs Melbourne) both had their highest-scoring performances over the weekend in the absence of Harvey.

On the flip side, the Hawks will have to zero in on slowing down Robert Franks (18 points and 8.83 rebounds), Lamar Patterson (16.42 points) and Jason Cadee (26 points on Sunday vs Adelaide).

The round 19 game will be broadcast live on ESPN via Kayo Sports and Foxtel.