Harvey takes Hawks to brink of playoffs

The Illawarra Hawks have one foot in the finals after fending off the dogged New Zealand Breakers 84-73 at The Stockyard in Pukekohe.

Locked in a three-way dogfight with the Sydney Kings and the Brisbane Bullets for the last finals spot on offer, a win was essential here for the Hawks. They got the job done and now they are on the precipice of shaking off last year's wooden spoon to make finals.

This was not champagne basketball, it was ugly, down and dirty, slow-scoring hoops where every triple and every turnover might as well have been worth double. Those two stats are exactly where the Hawks made the Breakers pay.

Import Tyler Harvey was prolific with 30 points including shooting 5/12 from long range. Coupled with eight rebounds, four assists and five steals, he was the clear player of the match. 

The out of retirement Tim Coenraad may have only had six points for the match, but they came from two crucial long-range daggers. Sam Froling was also dominant in the paint with 22 points, eight rebounds, three assists and a block.

Hawks coach Brian Goorjian said there was no magic in the halftime speech, it was just his charges standing up and playing to the game plan to get the job done.

"Coming in here was a really dangerous game, they are a very well coached, very talented team," he said.

"We're playing for our lives, and we had to come down to New Zealand where they get a home opportunity.

"We stayed in the game until halftime, didn't let them separate from us... we were tighter (in the third quarter), there was more communication on the floor and more energy from our bench - we knew we had a chance."

The road ahead gets easier for the Hawks who sit above the chasing Kings and Bullets with all three remaining games to be played at home in Wollongong.

"For everyone this season, it has been an unbelievable slog for all teams," he said.

"To be in this situation, we're with a week to go, we've still got a chance, the importance is monumental for our new team and new organisation. We just want to leave everything out there in each one of those games and see where that takes us."

It was a tight contest for the most part, a third-quarter lapse costing the Breakers dearly. They surrendered eight turnovers in a short period of time on their way to 15 for the match. They were never able to recover from that period of the match.

Finn Delany was as energetic as ever with 24 points, five rebounds and three assists while Levi Randolph had 13 points and seven rebounds. Tai Webster had 14 points, but it was all in vain as the Breakers slumped to their fourth consecutive loss to the Hawks.

New Zealand coach Dan Shamir said that third quarter lapse was ultimately what cost them a shot at a morale boosting victory.

"In terms of the development and flow of the game, it hurt us a lot," he said.

"We didn't start the quarter very well, and then we lost our focus. They made a run, a quick run. They scored in bunches, and we weren't able to keep it under control."

It must have been cold in the gym, because it seemed like the hoops had shrunk. Both sides opened with a clip of 15 per cent (2/13) shooting before Delany stopped the rot with a drought-breaking basket. At one point the Hawks had more rebounds than points the shooting was so shocking.

Delany and Randolph finally managed to thread the needle, landing valuable triples to take a 16-11 lead into quarter-time.

It was the Breakers who found their groove the fastest with a Kyrin Galloway long bomb giving them a 26-18 lead, a solid advantage in a low-scoring game. But the Hawks came roaring back just as fast, veteran Coenraad knocking down a triple to cut the margin to just three.

There were some flashy moments for the Breakers including a William McDowell-White triple and a huge Rasmus Bach dunk. Equally there was plenty of grit with Colton Iverson toiling in the paint. But the Hawks were toiling as well and hit two late triples before pinching the lead just before half-time. 

Delany kept his hot hand going with a late splash of his own and it was the Breakers leading 39-37 at the half.

Whatever Goorjian said during the break made a difference, as a more steely Hawks outfit took to the court and to their defensive assignments, building their way to a four-point lead. 

The Breakers were getting sloppy in offence and when a Froling dunk put Illawarra ahead 49-43, Dan Shamir called his charges in for a chat. 

His advice didn't land as the turnovers kept piling up - six in a row for the Breakers - which pushed the Illawarra lead out by 13. 

The Breakers needed a sparkplug and they found it in Delany as he reached 20 points with a statement dunk, slashing the margin to just six. It set up a big final quarter with the Hawks holding a 60-53 lead, but momentum was with the Breakers.

It was another slow-scoring quarter but the Hawks were getting the better looks and when they led by 11 points midway through the term, the writing was on the wall for the Breakers.

New Zealand chanced their arm and came back within seven points with two points on the board - desperately needing a Delany triple to land. It didn't, and the Hawks were able to close out the game from there.

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL ROUND 20

NEW ZEALAND BREAKERS 73 (Delany 24, T Webster 14, Randolph 13)

ILLAWARRA HAWKS 84 (Harvey 30, Froling 22, Simon 13) 

BOX SCORE