NBL: Illawarra Hawks stun Melbourne United to edge closer to finals spot

Away from home and without their inspirational head coach, the Illawarra Hawks managed to upset the ladder leaders.

The Illawarra Hawks took a huge step towards securing a spot in the NBL finals by thrashing ladder-leading Melbourne United 92-77 at John Cain Arena on Sunday – and they did it without inspirational coach Brian Goorjian.

The Hawks are now two games and percentage clear of the fifth-placed South East Melbourne Phoenix after coming up with the kind of performance that would’ve had the rest of the league quaking in their boots.

As Goorjian watched on from Covid-19 isolation, the Hawks rattled the reigning champions from the jump, leading by as many as 23 points in the last quarter.

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The last time these two sides met, NBA champion Matthew Dellavedova gave Illawarra a masterclass in three-point shooting but in the rematch, the Hawks were the ones doing the schooling.

Illawarra netted five of its first seven attempts from beyond the arc to open up a nine-point lead in the first quarter and set the tone for an aggressive offensive performance.

Illawarra’s lead stretched to double figures by halftime and stayed that way for almost all of the second half.

Antonius Cleveland led all scorers with 20 points, while Tyler Harvey (19) and Duop Reath (15) also pitched in.

Cleveland led all scorers on Sunday afternoon. (Photo by Kelly Defina/Getty Images)

The Hawks had United’s measure without the rock, too, managing to out-defend the team with the best defensive reputation in the NBL.

The visitors forced United to turn the ball over 11 times by the half, just shy of Melbourne’s average for an entire game in NBL22 (13). United finished the game with 19 turnovers and only 77 points, well below their average of 89.

United simply couldn’t contain a side determined not to let the finals slip by, and in turn, threw away a golden opportunity of their own.

Had they won, the Melburnians would’ve moved two wins and percentage clear at the top of the table to all but secure the minor premiership.

Instead, the Kings and Wildcats are hot on United’s trail and could well oust them from top spot as the end of the regular season draws near.

One thing’s for sure, United will be hoping to flip the script when they meet the Hawks again on Saturday.

Goorjian missing

NBL super coach Brian Goorjian was forced to watch Sunday’s clash from isolation, having tested positive to Covid-19 during the week.

Jacob Jackomas became the fourth assistant coach this season to make their head coaching debut as a result of Covid-19 protocols, and the first to win.

It was also the first time in 24 seasons as an NBL head coach that Goorjian had missed a game of the team he was coaching.

Earlier in the week, the Hawks reported Goorjian was “feeling fine” and “in good spirits” despite his diagnosis. He’ll likely be feeling a bit better than fine after watching his team knock off the reigning champions.

Jackomas’ head coaching debut couldn’t have gone much better. (Photo by Kelly Defina/Getty Images)

Good as Goulding

On Sunday, Chris Goulding became the first man to play 200 games for Melbourne United.

‘CG43’ finished his big day with modest figures of 13 points and one assist.