Melbourne United survive Hawks scare to reclaim top spot on NBL ladder

MELBOURNE United reclaimed top spot on the NBL ladder with a heart-stopping 97-96 win over Illawarra, which was its third consecutive victory.

NBL: Melbourne United v. Illawarra Hawks at "The Cage" Chris Goulding scores for Melbourne United. Picture: Jay Town

IT’S official – Melbourne United is back.

United reclaimed top spot on the NBL ladder on Thursday with a heart-stopping 97-96 win over Illawarra, which was its third consecutive victory.

The upcoming Australian Open meant the game was moved to “The Cage,” but United brought its recent form with it across town.

A game-high 27 points from star Chris Goulding saw Melbourne home, while guard Stephen Holt (14 points, six assists) and big man Hakim Warrick (20 points) also shone.

United coach Dean Demopoulos paid tribute to his side for surviving a late charge from the Hawks to close out the match.

“A great coach in Chuck Daly once said that at this time of year, you’ve got to be able to land the plane,” he said.

“Illawarra is a very, very good team; they’re experienced, well coached and compete at a high level for a long time.

“I thought we matched their effort.

“There are parts of that game I’m not happy with, but when it was time to land the plane we did and with no casualties.”

It was Majok Majok who ignited the crowd early with a two-handed slam to get Melbourne off to a positive start.

But Kevin Lisch started to find his range towards the end of the first term, hitting 10 points for the quarter to help the visitors to a four-point lead at quarter-time.

Stephen Holt drives on Illawarra's Rhys Martin. Picture: Jay Town

Illawarra continued to go on the attack to start the second quarter.

Melbourne was able to steady and a buzzer-beater from Daniel Kickert meant United trailed by just three points at the main break.

An unsportsmanlike foul called on Hawks big man AJ Ogilivy, who had been unsighted to that point, led to a five-point play for Melbourne early in the third term.

First Goulding hit his two foul shots before Hakim Warrick threw down a big slam.

It sparked Melbourne with the home side going on a sizzling 15-1 run to take firm control of the contest.

United scored 36 points for the quarter with a Goulding triple on the buzzer putting his side up by 10 at the last change.

The Hawks rallied early in the final term as Kirk Penney started to warm up.

They cut the margin to just three points to drag themselves back into the contest.

It became a one-point game with four minutes remaining as Melbourne began to tighten up.

The match was tied with 1:16 left when a dubious call on Todd Blanchfield for a push gave the Hawks foul shots and a two-point lead.

Goulding then sunk two free shots to tie up the game.

Melbourne was able to turn the ball over and Goulding was again fouled on a drive to the basket with 4.6 sec remaining.

He hit one from two, giving Illawarra the chance to win the match.

But Cody Ellis’ game-winning shot attempt on the buzzer failed to drop.

Originally published as Melbourne United survive Hawks scare to reclaim top spot on NBL ladder