NBL grand final, Illawarra Hawks v Melbourne United, game 1: Lee stars as United strikes first blood

Illawarra led by 10 points at halftime but Melbourne United has shown why they can’t be counted out with a stellar second-half defensive display to take Game 1 in the NBL championship series.

Melbourne United stole back home-court advantage with a grinding, gritty 96-88 victory over Illawarra Hawks in the first game of the National Basketball League grand final series at WIN Entertainment Centre in Wollongong on Saturday night.

Led by Australian Boomers playmaker Matthew Dellavedova’s game-high 18 points, United erased a 10-point half-time deficit to take a 1-0 lead back to Melbourne’s John Cain Arena for Game Two of the best-of-five series next Wednesday.

Illawarra had averaged almost 101 points a game this season and finished on top of the ladder after the regular season with a 20-9 win-loss record, which included a 117-95 last-start thumping of Melbourne in Wollongong on January 18.

But United dragged the high-flying Hawks into a dogfight, holding them to just 14 points in the third quarter, then went on with the job in the final term to end Illawarra’s home-court winning streak at seven games.

Led by Dellavedova, Shea Ili and Marcus Lee, United shut down Illawarra sharp-shooters Tyler Harvey and Trey Kell III and contained them to a combined total of just 15 points.

Apart from doing the job defensively on Kell, Dellavedova hit a killer three-pointer in the final minutes to end a 5-0 Hawks run and extend Melbourne’s lead to 87-80.

Melbourne, chasing their first championship since 2021 and third overall, eliminated the Hawks in the 2024 semi-finals before going on to lose 3-2 to Tasmania in the grand final.

Melbourne United’s Jack White gets up for a dunk. Picture: Getty Images

HOT SHOTS

A Todd Blanchfield three-pointer in the final seconds gave Illawarra a 29-26 lead at the first break, reinforcing the Hawks’ reputation as the league’s fastest starters.

After a see-sawing first quarter, it marked the ninth straight home game in which the Hawks have led their opponents at quarter-time.

Blanchfield, who hit an equal career-high eight three-pointers in his 28-point haul in Illawarra’s 126-96 demolition of South East Melbourne Phoenix last Wednesday, had only entered the game a minute earlier.

The 33-year-old former Boomers representative maintained the hot hand in the second period, hitting two more triples and a mid-range jumper for 11 first-half points.

Chris Goulding endured an indifferent start for Melbourne United. Picture: Getty Images

ROUGH START

Rival superstars Chris Goulding (Melbourne) and Trey Kell III (Illawarra) struggled to find their shooting stroke in the first half, managing just two points each.

Goulding, who made an NBL single-series record 22 three-pointers in Melbourne’s semi-final elimination of Perth, played less than seven minutes of the first half after picking up two early fouls.

Illawarra’s Trey Kell III gets up for a basket. Picture: Getty Images

He took just three shots and missed his only three-point attempt, but came up big when it mattered, knocking down back-to-back treys to give Melbourne a 75-71 lead early in the fourth quarter.

Kell piled on 26 first-half points in Illawarra’s semi-final series decider against Phoenix last Wednesday but was scoreless against United until the final minute of the half.

Closely guarded by Dellavedova, Kell was clearly frustrated at his inability to provide any scoring punch and raised his arms when his first bucket dropped.

Kell still contributed to Illawarra’s scoring effort, pulling down five first-half rebounds and handing out four assists – the final two for Sam Froling to help the Hawks build a 53-43 half-time lead.

Melbrouen United’s Shea Ili drives to the basket. Picture: Getty Images

LOE BLOW

Melbourne clawed back into the contest in the third quarter but their momentum halted when United big man Rob Loe was called for an unsportsmanlike foul, shoving Illawarra’s Lachlan Olbrich in the throat with his forearm.

It came amid a physical, fiery final few minutes of the third quarter as both teams were called for heavy fouls and struggled to make shots.

United opened the period on a 6-0 run to trim Illawarra’s 10-point lead to just four points, and by the end of the term only trailed 67-64, holding the Hawks to just 14 points and setting up their fourth-quarter surge.

WHITE PUTS YIPS BEHIND HIM

Jack White admits he was “in my own head” as he caught the yips from the free throw line during the NBL semi-finals but that “overthinking” is in the rearview as he gears up for Melbourne United’s grand final redemption arc.

White’s game three, second-half explosion helped Melbourne wrap up the series against Perth and banished those mental demons.

Captain Chris Goulding has declared the 27-year-old gamebreaker is now primed for Illawarra, as United seeks to atone for the heartbreak of last season’s grand final defeat at the hands of Tasmania.

“He makes massive shots all the time and we’ve seen it all year – when he steps in and shoots the ball, he’s honestly one of the best shooters in the league,” said Goulding, the league’s premier marksman.

“The way he approaches the game and steps up and knocks down those shots is why he’s the player he is.”

White went 2-8 from the free throw line in game two against Perth and was clearly rattled but Goulding said the Boomer’s 12-point third quarter in game three – where he bookended the period with three-point makes – was typical of the power forward’s resilience.

Melbourne United star Jack White. Picture: Getty Images

“I mean, we all miss shots. You can talk about his free throws. You could talk about however many hundred threes I missed the other night, however many layups we missed, it’s part of it and how you respond to it,” Goulding said.

There’s a redemption arc for White, too.

He does have a championship ring with United – 2021 – but was robbed of the on-court elation as he watched his teammates get the job done from the sidelines while he recovered from a ruptured Achilles.

“Fortunate to be in this position and not going to take it for granted,” White said, ahead of Saturday night’s clash with the Hawks in Wollongong.

“Three games away from the ultimate goal.

“It’s not just an individual thing, for all the boys and the disappointment from last year, a lot of those guys are back in this year’s group.

“There’s a lot of drive and hunger from within the group to get it done.”

Originally published as NBL grand final, Illawarra Hawks v Melbourne United, game 1: Lee stars as United strikes first blood